Spin-orbit torque engineering via oxygen manipulation

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that oxygen manipulation can significantly enhance and reconfigure spin-orbit torques in spintronic devices, offering new avenues for device control and functionality.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method of engineering spin-orbit torques through oxygen manipulation, revealing a new mechanism that surpasses the spin Hall effect in strength.

Findings

Oxygen oxidation doubles the strength of spin-orbit torque.

Oxygen manipulation enables reconfigurable spintronic devices.

A new spin-orbit torque mechanism is identified.

Abstract

Spin transfer torques allow the electrical manipulation of the magnetization at room temperature, which is desirable in spintronic devices such as spin transfer torque memories. When combined with spin-orbit coupling, they give rise to spin-orbit torques which are a more powerful tool for magnetization control and can enrich device functionalities. The engineering of spin-orbit torques, based mostly on the spin Hall effect, is being intensely pursued. Here we report that the oxidation of spin-orbit torque devices triggers a new mechanism of spin-orbit torque, which is about two times stronger than that based on the spin Hall effect. We thus introduce a way to engineer spin-orbit torques via oxygen manipulation. Combined with electrical gating of the oxygen level, our findings may also pave the way towards reconfigurable logic devices.