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Qi J, Zhao Y, Zhang Y, Yang G, Huang H, Lyu H, Shao B, Zhang J, Li J, Zhu T, Yu G, Wei H, Zhou S, Shen B, Wang S. Full electrical manipulation of perpendicular exchange bias in ultrathin antiferromagnetic film with epitaxial strain. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4734. [PMID: 38830907 PMCID: PMC11148026 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49214-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Achieving effective manipulation of perpendicular exchange bias effect remains an intricate endeavor, yet it stands a significance for the evolution of ultra-high capacity and energy-efficient magnetic memory and logic devices. A persistent impediment to its practical applications is the reliance on external magnetic fields during the current-induced switching of exchange bias in perpendicularly magnetized structures. This study elucidates the achievement of a full electrical manipulation of the perpendicular exchange bias in the multilayers with an ultrathin antiferromagnetic layer. Owing to the anisotropic epitaxial strain in the 2-nm-thick IrMn3 layer, the considerable exchange bias effect is clearly achieved at room temperature. Concomitantly, a specific global uncompensated magnetization manifests in the IrMn3 layer, facilitating the switching of the irreversible portion of the uncompensated magnetization. Consequently, the perpendicular exchange bias can be manipulated by only applying pulsed current, notably independent of the presence of any external magnetic fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Qi
- Anhui Key Laboratory of Magnetic Functional Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China
| | - Yunchi Zhao
- Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
| | - Yi Zhang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Guang Yang
- School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - He Huang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Haochang Lyu
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Bokai Shao
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Jingyan Zhang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Jialiang Li
- Spallation Neutron Source Science Center, Dongguan, 523803, China
| | - Tao Zhu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- Spallation Neutron Source Science Center, Dongguan, 523803, China
| | - Guoqiang Yu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Hongxiang Wei
- Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Shiming Zhou
- Anhui Key Laboratory of Magnetic Functional Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China
| | - Baogen Shen
- Anhui Key Laboratory of Magnetic Functional Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China
| | - Shouguo Wang
- Anhui Key Laboratory of Magnetic Functional Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China.
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Xiong D, Jiang Y, Shi K, Du A, Yao Y, Guo Z, Zhu D, Cao K, Peng S, Cai W, Zhu D, Zhao W. Antiferromagnetic spintronics: An overview and outlook. FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 2:522-534. [PMID: 38934004 PMCID: PMC11197578 DOI: 10.1016/j.fmre.2022.03.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 03/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the past few decades, the diversified development of antiferromagnetic spintronics has made antiferromagnets (AFMs) interesting and very useful. After tough challenges, the applications of AFMs in electronic devices have transitioned from focusing on the interface coupling features to achieving the manipulation and detection of AFMs. As AFMs are internally magnetic, taking full use of AFMs for information storage has been the main target of research. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive description of AFM spintronics applications from the interface coupling, read-out operations, and writing manipulations perspective. We examine the early use of AFMs in magnetic recordings and conventional magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM), and review the latest mechanisms of the manipulation and detection of AFMs. Finally, based on exchange bias (EB) manipulation, a high-performance EB-MRAM is introduced as the next generation of AFM-based memories, which provides an effective method for read-out and writing of AFMs and opens a new era for AFM spintronics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danrong Xiong
- Fert Beijing Institute, MIIT Key Laboratory of Spintronics, School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Yuhao Jiang
- Fert Beijing Institute, MIIT Key Laboratory of Spintronics, School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Kewen Shi
- Fert Beijing Institute, MIIT Key Laboratory of Spintronics, School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Ao Du
- Fert Beijing Institute, MIIT Key Laboratory of Spintronics, School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Yuxuan Yao
- Fert Beijing Institute, MIIT Key Laboratory of Spintronics, School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Zongxia Guo
- Fert Beijing Institute, MIIT Key Laboratory of Spintronics, School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Daoqian Zhu
- Fert Beijing Institute, MIIT Key Laboratory of Spintronics, School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Kaihua Cao
- Fert Beijing Institute, MIIT Key Laboratory of Spintronics, School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
- Beihang-Goertek Joint Microelectronics Institute, Qingdao Research Institute, Beihang University, Qingdao 266000, China
| | - Shouzhong Peng
- Fert Beijing Institute, MIIT Key Laboratory of Spintronics, School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Wenlong Cai
- Fert Beijing Institute, MIIT Key Laboratory of Spintronics, School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Dapeng Zhu
- Fert Beijing Institute, MIIT Key Laboratory of Spintronics, School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
- Beihang-Goertek Joint Microelectronics Institute, Qingdao Research Institute, Beihang University, Qingdao 266000, China
| | - Weisheng Zhao
- Fert Beijing Institute, MIIT Key Laboratory of Spintronics, School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
- Beihang-Goertek Joint Microelectronics Institute, Qingdao Research Institute, Beihang University, Qingdao 266000, China
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Wu B, Jin M, Luo Y, Xu X, Fan H, Huang H, Feng Z, Zhuang Y, Yu C, Zhou T. Enhancement of Damping-Like Field and Field-Free Switching in Pt/(Co/Pt)/PtMn Trilayer Films Prepared in the Presence of an In Situ Magnetic Field. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:21668-21676. [PMID: 35471960 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c02621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The current-induced magnetization switching and damping-like field in Pt/(Co/Pt)/PtMn trilayer films prepared with and without an in situ in-plane field of 600 Oe have been studied systematically. In the presence of the in situ field, a small in-plane bias field (HEB) is observed for films with PtMn thickness ≥5 nm, while there is no observable HEB for PtMn thickness ≤3 nm. Nevertheless, a field-free switching of perpendicular magnetization of Co/Pt is observed for all the films with the PtMn thickness of 1-7 nm. On the other hand, without the presence of the in situ field, HEB and field-free switching are not seen. Furthermore, the damping-like fields (HDL) are much enhanced in the presence of the in situ field, and the increasement can be up to 47%. We further revealed that the spin current is mainly from the Pt layer, while the noncollinear spin configuration at the interface caused by the in situ in-plane field may play a role in the HDL enhancement. Micromagnetic simulations indicate that the canting of antiferromagnet PtMn spins plays an important role in the field-free switching. Our findings clarify the source of spin current in the trilayer films and provide an easier approach to field-free switching and HDL enhancement for future low-power spintronic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Birui Wu
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
- College of Information and Mechanical Electrical Engineering, Ningde Normal University, Ningde 352100, China
| | - Menghao Jin
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
| | - Yongming Luo
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
| | - Xiuyuan Xu
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L3 8LG, UK
| | - Haodong Fan
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
| | - Haixia Huang
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
| | - Zhongshu Feng
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
| | - Yanshan Zhuang
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
| | - Changqiu Yu
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
| | - Tiejun Zhou
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
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