Substantial reduction of critical current for magnetization switching in an exchange-biased spin valve

被引:124
作者
Jiang, Y [1 ]
Nozaki, T
Abe, S
Ochiai, T
Hirohata, A
Tezuka, N
Inomata, K
机构
[1] Tohoku Univ, Grad Sch Engn, Dept Mat Sci, Sendai, Miyagi 9808579, Japan
[2] Japan Sci & Technol Agcy, CREST, Sendai, Miyagi 9808579, Japan
关键词
D O I
10.1038/nmat1120
中图分类号
O64 [物理化学(理论化学)、化学物理学];
学科分类号
070304 ; 081704 ;
摘要
Great interest(1-10) in current-induced magnetic excitation and switching in a magnetic nanopillar has been caused by the theoretical predictions(11,12) 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' devices(13): 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 x 10(6) 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.
引用
收藏
页码:361 / 364
页数:4
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