Controllable Spin-Transfer Torque on an Antiferromagnet in a Dual Spin-Valve

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that current-induced spin-transfer torque can induce and control magnetization in antiferromagnets within a dual spin-valve, opening new avenues for spintronic device functionalities.

Contribution

It introduces a method to induce and manipulate magnetization in antiferromagnets using spin-transfer torque in a dual spin-valve setup, with control via magnetic configuration.

Findings

Magnetization can be induced in AFMs at current densities below 10^6 A/cm^2.

The induced magnetization direction is controllable by the spin-valve configuration.

Switching time-scale depends non-monotonically on the magnetic configuration.

Abstract

We consider current-induced spin-transfer torque on an antiferromagnet in a dual spin-valve setup. It is demonstrated that a net magnetization may be induced in the AFM by partially or completely aligning the sublattice magnetizations via a current-induced spin-transfer torque. This effect occurs for current densities ranging below 10$^6$ A/cm$^2$. The direction of the induced magnetization in the AFM is shown to be efficiently controlled by means of the magnetic configuration of the spin-valve setup, with the anti-parallell configuration yielding the largest spin-transfer torque. Interestingly, the magnetization switching time-scale $\tau_\text{switch}$ itself has a strong, non-monotonic dependence on the spin-valve configuration. These results may point toward new ways to incorporate AFMs in spintronic devices in order to obtain novel types of functionality.