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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Maizel, Rachel E., Wu, Shuang, Balakrishnan, Purnima P., Grutter, Alexander J., Kinane, Christy J., Caruana, Andrew J., Nakarmi, Prabandha, Nepal, Bhuwan, Smith, David A., Lim, Youngmin, Jones, Julia L., Thomas, Wyatt C., Zhao, Jing, Michel, F. Marc, Mewes, Tim, Emori, Satoru
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.09874
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author Maizel, Rachel E.
Wu, Shuang
Balakrishnan, Purnima P.
Grutter, Alexander J.
Kinane, Christy J.
Caruana, Andrew J.
Nakarmi, Prabandha
Nepal, Bhuwan
Smith, David A.
Lim, Youngmin
Jones, Julia L.
Thomas, Wyatt C.
Zhao, Jing
Michel, F. Marc
Mewes, Tim
Emori, Satoru
author_facet Maizel, Rachel E.
Wu, Shuang
Balakrishnan, Purnima P.
Grutter, Alexander J.
Kinane, Christy J.
Caruana, Andrew J.
Nakarmi, Prabandha
Nepal, Bhuwan
Smith, David A.
Lim, Youngmin
Jones, Julia L.
Thomas, Wyatt C.
Zhao, Jing
Michel, F. Marc
Mewes, Tim
Emori, Satoru
contents Energy-efficient spintronic devices require a large spin-orbit torque (SOT) and low damping to excite magnetic precession. In conventional devices with heavy-metal/ferromagnet bilayers, reducing the ferromagnet thickness to $\sim$1 nm enhances the SOT but dramatically increases damping. Here, we investigate an alternative approach based on a 10 nm thick single-layer ferromagnet to attain both low damping and a sizable SOT. Instead of relying on a single interface, we continuously break the bulk inversion symmetry with a vertical compositional gradient of two ferromagnetic elements: Fe with low intrinsic damping and Ni with sizable spin-orbit coupling. We find low effective damping parameters of $α_\mathrm{eff} < 5\times10^{-3}$ in the FeNi alloy films, despite the steep compositional gradients. Moreover, we reveal a sizable anti-damping SOT efficiency of $|θ_\mathrm{DL}| \approx 0.05$, even without an intentional compositional gradient. Through depth-resolved x-ray diffraction, we identify a lattice strain gradient as crucial symmetry breaking that underpins the SOT. Our findings provide fresh insights into damping and SOTs in single-layer ferromagnets for power-efficient spintronic devices.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_09874
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Vertically Graded Fe-Ni Alloys with Low Damping and a Sizeable Spin-Orbit Torque
Maizel, Rachel E.
Wu, Shuang
Balakrishnan, Purnima P.
Grutter, Alexander J.
Kinane, Christy J.
Caruana, Andrew J.
Nakarmi, Prabandha
Nepal, Bhuwan
Smith, David A.
Lim, Youngmin
Jones, Julia L.
Thomas, Wyatt C.
Zhao, Jing
Michel, F. Marc
Mewes, Tim
Emori, Satoru
Materials Science
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Energy-efficient spintronic devices require a large spin-orbit torque (SOT) and low damping to excite magnetic precession. In conventional devices with heavy-metal/ferromagnet bilayers, reducing the ferromagnet thickness to $\sim$1 nm enhances the SOT but dramatically increases damping. Here, we investigate an alternative approach based on a 10 nm thick single-layer ferromagnet to attain both low damping and a sizable SOT. Instead of relying on a single interface, we continuously break the bulk inversion symmetry with a vertical compositional gradient of two ferromagnetic elements: Fe with low intrinsic damping and Ni with sizable spin-orbit coupling. We find low effective damping parameters of $α_\mathrm{eff} < 5\times10^{-3}$ in the FeNi alloy films, despite the steep compositional gradients. Moreover, we reveal a sizable anti-damping SOT efficiency of $|θ_\mathrm{DL}| \approx 0.05$, even without an intentional compositional gradient. Through depth-resolved x-ray diffraction, we identify a lattice strain gradient as crucial symmetry breaking that underpins the SOT. Our findings provide fresh insights into damping and SOTs in single-layer ferromagnets for power-efficient spintronic devices.
title Vertically Graded Fe-Ni Alloys with Low Damping and a Sizeable Spin-Orbit Torque
topic Materials Science
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.09874