Jiang, Y., Nozaki, T., Abe, S. et al. (4 more authors) (2004) Substantial reduction of critical current for magnetization switching in an exchange-biased spin-valve. Nature Materials, 3 (6). pp. 361-364. ISSN 1476-1122
Abstract
Great interest 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 in current-induced magnetic excitation and switching in a magnetic nanopillar has been caused by the theoretical predictions11, 12 of these phenomena. The concept of using a spin-polarized current to switch the magnetization orientation of a magnetic layer provides a possible way to realize future 'current-driven' devices13: in such devices, direct switching of the magnetic memory bits would be produced by a local current application, instead of by a magnetic field generated by attached wires. Until now, all the reported work on current-induced magnetization switching has been concentrated on a simple ferromagnet/Cu/ferromagnet trilayer. Here we report the observation of current-induced magnetization switching in exchange-biased spin valves (ESPVs) at room temperature. The ESPVs clearly show current-induced magnetization switching behaviour under a sweeping direct current with a very high density. We show that insertion of a ruthenium layer between an ESPV nanopillar and the top electrode effectively decreases the critical current density from about 108 to 107 A cm-2. In a well-designed 'antisymmetric' ESPV structure, this critical current density can be further reduced to 2 106 A cm-2. We believe that the substantial reduction of critical current could make it possible for current-induced magnetization switching to be directly applied in spintronic devices, such as magnetic random-access memory.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Electronic Engineering (York) |
Depositing User: | York RAE Import |
Date Deposited: | 20 Mar 2009 10:59 |
Last Modified: | 20 Mar 2009 10:59 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nmat1120 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/nmat1120 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:7064 |