Thickness-dependent magnetic properties in Pt/[Co/Ni]_(n) multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

We systematically investigated the Ni and Co thickness-dependent perpendicular magnetic anisotropy(PMA)coefficient,magnetic domain structures,and magnetization dynamics of Pt(5 nm)/[Co(t_(Co))/Ni(t_(Ni))]_(5)/Pt(1 nm)multilayers by combining the four standard magnetic characterization techniques.The magnetic-related hysteresis loops obtained from the field-dependent magnetization M and anomalous Hall resistivity(AHR)ρxy showed that the two serial multilayers with t_(Co)=0.2 nm and 0.3 nm have the optimum PMA coefficient K_(U) as well as the highest coercivity H_(C) at the Ni thickness t_(Ni)=0.6 nm.Additionally,the magnetic domain structures obtained by magneto-optic Kerr effect(MOKE)microscopy also significantly depend on the thickness and K_(U) of the films.Furthermore,the thickness-dependent linewidth of ferromagnetic resonance is inversely proportional to K_(U) and H_(C),indicating that inhomogeneous magnetic properties dominate the linewidth.However,the intrinsic Gilbert damping constant determined by a linear fitting of the frequency-dependent linewidth does not depend on the Ni thickness and K_(U).Our results could help promote the PMA[Co/Ni]multilayer applications in various spintronic and spin-orbitronic devices.

Magnetic dynamics of two-dimensional itinerant ferromagnet Fe_(3)GeTe_(2)

Among the layered two-dimensional ferromagnetic materials(2D FMs),due to a relatively high T_(C),the van der Waals(vdW)Fe_(3)GeTe_(2)(FGT)crystal is of great importance for investigating its distinct magnetic properties.Here,we have carried out static and dynamic magnetization measurements of the FGT crystal with a Curie temperature TC≈204 K.The M-H hysteresis loops with in-plane and out-of-plane orientations show that FGT has a strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy with the easy axis along its c-axis.Moreover,we have calculated the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy constant(K_(1))from the SQUID measurements.The dynamic magnetic properties of FGT have been probed by utilizing the high sensitivity electron-spin-resonance(ESR)spectrometer at cryogenic temperatures.Based on an approximation of single magnetic domain mode,the K_(1)and the effective damping constant(αeff)have also been determined from the out-of-plane angular dependence of ferromagnetic resonance(FMR)spectra obtained at the temperature range of 185 K to T_(C).We have found large magnetic damping with the effective damping constantαeff~0.58 along with a broad linewidth(ΔH_(pp)>1000 Oe at 9.48 GHz,H||c-axis).Our results provide useful dynamics information for the development of FGT-based spintronic devices.

Enhancement of spin-orbit torque efficiency by tailoring interfacial spin-orbit coupling in Pt-based magnetic multilayers

We study inserting Co layer thickness-dependent spin transport and spin-orbit torques(SOTs)in the Pt/Co/Py trilayers by spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance.The interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy(IPMA)energy density(Ks=2.7 erg/cm^(2),1 erg=10^(-7) J),which is dominated by interfacial spin-orbit coupling(ISOC)in the Pt/Co interface,total effective spin-mixing conductance(G↑↓eff,tot=0.42×10^(15) Ω^(-1)·m^(-2))and two-magnon scattering(βTMS=0.46 nm2)are first characterized,and the damping-like torque(ξDL=0.103)and field-like torque(ξFL=-0.017)efficiencies are also calculated quantitatively by varying the thickness of the inserting Co layer.The significant enhancement of ξDL and ξFL in Pt/Co/Py than Pt/Py bilayer system originates from the interfacial Rashba-Edelstein effect due to the strong ISOC between Co-3d and Pt-5d orbitals at the Pt/Co interface.Additionally,we find a considerable out-of-plane spin polarization SOT,which is ascribed to the spin anomalous Hall effect and possible spin precession effect due to IPMA-induced perpendicular magnetization at the Pt/Co interface.Our results demonstrate that the ISOC of the Pt/Co interface plays a vital role in spin transport and SOTs-generation.Our finds offer an alternative approach to improve the conventional SOTs efficiencies and generate unconventional SOTs with out-of-plane spin polarization to develop low power Pt-based spintronic via tailoring the Pt/FM interface.

Experiments and SPICE simulations of double MgO-based perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction

We investigate properties of perpendicular anisotropy magnetic tunnel junctions(pMTJs) with a stack structure MgO/CoFeB/Ta/CoFeB/MgO as the free layer(or recording layer),and obtain the necessary device parameters from the tunneling magnetoresistance(TMR) vs.field loops and current-driven magnetization switching experiments.Based on the experimental results and device parameters,we further estimate current-driven switching performance of pMTJ including switching time and power,and their dependence on perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and damping constant of the free layer by SPICE-based circuit simulations.Our results show that the pMTJ cells exhibit a less than 1 ns switching time and write energies <1.4 pJ;meanwhile the lower perpendicular magnetic anisotropy(PMA) and damping constant can further reduce the switching time at the studied range of damping constant α <0.1.Additionally,our results demonstrate that the pMTJs with the thermal stability factor■73 can be easily transformed into spin-torque nano-oscillators from magnetic memory as microwave sources or detectors for telecommunication devices.

Stochastic spin-orbit-torque device as the STDP synapse for spiking neural networks

Neuromorphic hardware,as a non-Von Neumann architecture,has better energy efficiency and parallelism than the conventional computer.Here,with the numerical modeling spin-orbit torque(SOT)device using current-induced SOT and Joule heating effects,we acquire its magnetization stochastic switching probability as a function of the interval time of input current pulses and use it to mimic the spike-timing-dependent plasticity learning behavior like actual brain working.We further demonstrate that the artificial spiking neural network(SNN)built by this SOT device can perform unsupervised handwritten digit recognition with an accuracy of 80%and logic operation learning.Our work provides a new clue to achieving SNN-based neuromorphic hardware using high-energy efficiency and nonvolatile spintronics nanodevices.