0000000000528166
AUTHOR
Xiufeng Han
Electrical switching of perpendicular magnetization in a single ferromagnetic layer
We report on the efficient spin-orbit torque (SOT) switching in a single ferromagnetic layer induced by a new type of inversion asymmetry, the composition gradient. The SOT of 6- to 60-nm epitaxial FePt thin films with a $L{1}_{0}$ phase is investigated. The magnetization of the FePt single layer can be reversibly switched by applying electrical current with a moderate current density. Different from previously reported SOTs which either decreases with or does not change with the film thickness, the SOT in FePt increases with the film thickness. We found the SOT in FePt can be attributed to the composition gradient along the film normal direction. A linear correlation between the SOT and th…
Transition of laser-induced terahertz spin currents from torque- to conduction-electron-mediated transport
Spin transport is crucial for future spintronic devices operating at bandwidths up to the terahertz range. In F|N thin-film stacks made of a ferromagnetic/ferrimagnetic layer F and a normal-metal layer N, spin transport is mediated by (1) spin-polarized conduction electrons and/or (2) torque between electron spins. To identify a crossover from (1) to (2), we study laser-driven spin currents in F|Pt stacks where F consists of model materials with different degrees of electrical conductivity. For the magnetic insulators yttrium iron garnet, gadolinium iron garnet (GIG) and γ−Fe2O3, identical dynamics is observed. It arises from the terahertz interfacial spin Seebeck effect (SSE), is fully det…