Magnonic Spin-Transfer Torque in Ferromagnet/Antiferromagnet/Ferromagnet Trilayer

TL;DR

This paper investigates thermal magnon transport in ferromagnet/antiferromagnet/ferromagnet trilayers, demonstrating how temperature gradients can switch magnetic states via magnonic spin-transfer torque at room temperature.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism for controlling magnetic states using thermal magnon currents in F/AF/F structures, with practical threshold estimates.

Findings

Thermal gradients can switch magnetic states in F/AF/F trilayers.

Magnonic spin-transfer torque can be achieved at room temperature.

Threshold temperature gradient is less than 1 K/nm with optimized parameters.

Abstract

In an antiferromagnet (AF) with uniaxial anisotropy, spin-up and spin-down magnons coexist and form an intrinsic degree of freedom resembling electrons. When polarized by an adjacent ferromagnet (F), a magnonic pure spin current can be thermally generated in an AF. We explore thermal magnon transport in an insulating F/AF/F trilayer where propagating magnons inside the AF spacer can transfer angular momenta between the two Fs. We find that a sufficiently large temperature gradient can switch the downstream F via magnonic spin-transfer torque if it is initially antiparallel with the upstream F. A reciprocal switching is achievable by reversing the temperature gradient. Using typical material parameters, we estimate the threshold to be less than 1 K/nm at room temperature, which can be reduced by raising temperature and enhancing the interfacial exchange coupling.