Effect of spin diffusion on spin torque in magnetic nanopillars

TL;DR

This paper investigates how spin diffusion influences spin torque in magnetic nanopillars, revealing that the properties depend on the polarizing layer structure and are explained by spin-dependent electron diffusion effects.

Contribution

It provides a systematic experimental and theoretical analysis of spin diffusion effects on spin torque in magnetic nanopillars with various polarizing layers.

Findings

Magnetic reversal and dynamics depend on polarizing layer structure.

Magnetoresistance varies significantly with layer type.

Spin-dependent electron diffusion explains observed differences.

Abstract

We present systematic magnetoelectronic measurements of magnetic nanopillars with different structures of polarizing magnetic layers. The magnetic reversal at small magnetic field, the onset of magnetic dynamics at larger field, and the magnetoresistance exhibit a significant dependence on the type of the polarizing layer. We performed detailed quantitative modeling showing that the differences can be explained by the effects of spin-dependent electron diffusion.