ABSTRACT
The physical properties of ovonic threshold switching (OTS) materials are of great interest due to the use of OTS materials as selectors in cross-point array nonvolatile memory systems. Here, we show that the topological constraint theory (TCT) of chalcogenide glasses provides a robust framework to describe the physical properties of sputtered thin film OTS materials and electronic devices. Using the mean coordination number (MCN) of an OTS alloy as a comparative metric, we show that changes in data trends from several measurements are signatures of the transition from a floppy to a rigid glass network as described by TCT. This approach provides a means to optimize OTS selector materials for device applications using film-level measurements.
ABSTRACT
Recent experiments show that topological surface states (TSS) in topological insulators (TI) can be exploited to manipulate magnetic ordering in ferromagnets. In principle, TSS should also exist for other topological materials, but it remains unexplored as to whether such states can also be utilized to manipulate ferromagnets. Herein, current-induced magnetization switching enabled by TSS in a non-TI topological material, namely, a topological Dirac semimetal α-Sn, is reported. The experiments use an α-Sn/Ag/CoFeB trilayer structure. The magnetization in the CoFeB layer can be switched by a charge current at room temperature, without an external magnetic field. The data show that the switching is driven by the TSS of the α-Sn layer, rather than spin-orbit coupling in the bulk of the α-Sn layer or current-produced heating. The switching efficiency is as high as in TI systems. This shows that the topological Dirac semimetal α-Sn is as promising as TI materials in terms of spintronic applications.
ABSTRACT
We present a method for growing bit patterned magnetic recording media using directed growth of sputtered granular perpendicular magnetic recording media. The grain nucleation is templated using an epitaxial seed layer, which contains Pt pillars separated by amorphous metal oxide. The scheme enables the creation of both templated data and servo regions suitable for high density hard disk drive operation. We illustrate the importance of using a process that is both topographically and chemically driven to achieve high quality media.
ABSTRACT
We present a simple polymer-mediated process of assembling magnetic FePt nanoparticles on a solid substrate. Alternatively absorbing the PEI molecule and FePt nanoparticles on a HO-terminated solid surface leads to a smooth FePt nanoparticle assembly with controlled assembly thickness and dimension. Magnetic measurements show that the thermally annealed FePt nanoparticle assembly as thin as three nanoparticle layers is ferromagnetic. The magnetization direction of this thin FePt nanoparticle assembly is readily controlled with the laser-assisted magnetic writing. The reported process can be applied to various substrates, nanoparticles, and functional macromolecules and will be useful for future magnetic nanodevice fabrication.
