# Time resolved measurements of the switching trajectory of Pt/Co elements induced by spin-orbit torques

## TL;DR

This study uses time-resolved Kerr microscopy to observe and analyze the dynamics of spin-orbit torque-induced magnetization switching in Pt/Co elements, revealing the importance of field-like torque and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction.

## Contribution

First experimental time-resolved observation of spin-orbit torque switching in Pt/Co, incorporating micromagnetic modeling with field-like torque and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction.

## Key findings

- Reproducible homogeneous switching within tens of nanoseconds.
- Switching dynamics depend on field-like torque and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction.
- Micromagnetic models require these interactions for accurate reproduction.

## Abstract

We report the experimental observation of spin-orbit torque induced switching of perpendicularly magnetized Pt/Co elements in a time resolved stroboscopic experiment based on high resolution Kerr microscopy. Magnetization dynamics is induced by injecting sub-nanosecond current pulses into the bilayer while simultaneously applying static in-plane magnetic bias fields. Highly reproducible homogeneous switching on time scales of several tens of nanoseconds is observed. Our findings can be corroborated using micromagnetic modelling only when including a field-like torque term as well as the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction mediated by finite temperature.