Effect of Antiferromagnetic Interlayer Coupling on Current-Assisted Magnetization Switching

TL;DR

This paper investigates how antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling influences current-assisted magnetization switching in Co/Cu/Co nanopillars, revealing that dipolar coupling modifies switching behavior and hysteresis characteristics.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the effects of dipolar coupling on magnetization switching, highlighting changes in hysteresis and reversibility in nanopillars.

Findings

Dipolar coupling affects switching current.

Coupling causes switching to become reversible at small H.

Switching behavior varies with magnetic field H.

Abstract

We compare magnetization switching in Co/Cu/Co nanopillars with uncoupled and dipole-field coupled Co layers. In uncoupled nanopillars, current-driven switching is hysteretic at low magnetic field H and changes to reversible, characterized by telegraph noise, at high H. We show that dipolar coupling both affects the switching current and causes the switching to become reversible at small H. The coupling thus changes the switching to reversible, hysteretic, and then reversible again as H increases. We describe our results in terms of current-assisted thermal activation.