Towards metallic magnetic memory: How to interpret experimental results on magnetic switching induced by spin-polarized currents

In the field of magnetic memory the giant magnetoresistance effect provides a convenient way to read out the state of a spin-valve type device by passing a small current through it. It is now debated whether passing a large current through such a device could reliably switch its magnetic state between parallel and antiparallel configurations thus turning a spin valve into a complete read-write memory cell. Experiments with current induced switching were done by several groups, but their interpretation is not straightforward due to complicated interplay between the current-induced torques and those induced by anisotropy. We propose here an experimental setup where an exact solution for the switching behavior can be found in the framework of Slonczweski's approach. Comparison with experiment would be especially interesting since alternative approaches are discussed in the literature. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.