Observation of a Berry phase anti-damping spin-orbit torque

TL;DR

This paper reports the observation of a Berry phase-induced anti-damping spin-orbit torque in a ferromagnetic semiconductor, demonstrating a scattering-independent mechanism for magnetization control relevant for magnetic memory technology.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence of a Berry phase-based anti-damping SOT in a ferromagnetic semiconductor, distinct from spin Hall effect contributions.

Findings

Observation of Berry phase-induced anti-damping SOT

Elimination of SHE-related contributions in the experiment

Microscopic modeling supporting the Berry phase mechanism

Abstract

Recent observations of current-induced magnetization switching at ferromagnet/normal-conductor interfaces have important consequences for future magnetic memory technology. In one interpretation, the switching originates from carriers with spin-dependent scattering giving rise to a relativistic anti-damping spin-orbit torque (SOT) in structures with broken space-inversion symmetry. The alternative interpretation combines the relativistic spin Hall effect (SHE), making the normal-conductor an injector of a spin-current, with the non-relativistic spin-transfer torque (STT) in the ferromagnet. Remarkably, the SHE in these experiments originates from the Berry phase effect in the band structure of a clean crystal and the anti-damping STT is also based on a disorder-independent transfer of spin from carriers to magnetization. Here we report the observation of an anti-damping SOT stemming from an analogous Berry phase effect to the SHE. The SOT alone can therefore induce magnetization dynamics based on a scattering-independent principle. The ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As we use has a broken space-inversion symmetry in the crystal. This allows us to consider a bare ferromagnetic element which eliminates by design any SHE related contribution to the spin torque. We provide an intuitive picture of the Berry phase origin of the anti-damping SOT and a microscopic modeling of measured data.