Maximizing spin Hall magnetoresistance in heavy metal/crystalline metallic ferromagnet multilayers with opposite spin Hall angles.

Interconversion between charge and spin through spin-orbit coupling at a heavy metal (HM)/ferromagnet (FM) interface plays a key role in determining the amplitude of spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR), which might maximally facilitate its applications in novel electronics. In this study, annealed NiFe films grown on MgO (100) substrates capped with Pt and Ta are reported to exhibit a maximum SMR. When the measuring temperature is reduced, the SMR rises and is significantly larger in crystalline NiFe than in amorphous NiFe. Another physical process for the negative SMR in Ta(dTa)/Pt(3 nm)/annealed NiFe samples is attributed to the interfacial spin-orbit coupling (ISOC) driven spin current (Js) generation and its reciprocal effects. Moreover, spin accumulation is enhanced at Pt(3 nm)/annealed NiFe interfaces after capping with a Ta layer, which functions as a spin sink in a certain thinner thickness range. With the cooperative interaction of choosing the proper Ta's thickness and annealing NiFe layers, the maximum SMR is obtained. Our results pave the way for rational interface engineering to enhance SMR for developing high-efficiency spintronic devices.

Field-free switching of perpendicular magnetization through spin-orbit torque in FePt/[TiN/NiFe]5 multilayers.

In order to maintain the thermal stability of SOT devices with nanoscale size, it is desirable to achieve current induced magnetic switching in magnetic materials with high perpendicular anisotropy. In the present paper, current induced field-free switching of FePt/[TiN/NiFe]5 is achieved by interlayer exchange coupling, in which in-plane magnetized NiFe serves as a coupling layer through a TiN space layer. The large Ku (1.03 × 107 erg cc-1) and low critical current density values (0.17 × 107 A cm-2) show great advantages in thermal stability and energy consumption. Interestingly, it is found that the rotation directions of the current-induced magnetic switching loops under different applied magnetic fields are dependent on the sputtering temperature of [TiN/NiFe]5 multilayers: once sign change for FePt/[TiN/NiFe]5 RT and three sign changes for FePt/[TiN/NiFe]5 HT. Simultaneously, when the magnetization direction of NiFe changes from the Hx direction to -Hx direction, the switching polarities at Hx = 0 always remain unchanged, which is different from other groups' reports. These phenomena may be attributed to the combined effect of TiN layer thickness induced ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic coupling and the inherent Hin. Furthermore, gradual tuning of resistance states through the trains of current pulses has also been realized, showing potential applications in artificial synaptic networks. These results will put forward the applications of L10-FePt in current controlled MRAM and neuromorphic computing.

Tuning Irreversible Magnetoresistance in Pr0.67Sr0.33MnO3 Film via Octahedral Rotation.

The oxygen octahedral rotation around the out-of-plane axis is explored to study its effect on metastable status, magnetic cluster glass in manganite. The antiphase rotation around the out-of-plane axis (TiO6 a0a0c-) of SrTiO3 enhances the Mn-O bond anisotropy along in-plane and out-of-plane directions and weakens the ferromagnetic interactions in a 12 nm Pr0.67Sr0.33MnO3 film on the (001) SrTiO3 substrate, which together promote the formation of magnetic cluster-glassiness and enlarges the irreversible magnetoresistance (MR) effect with enhanced relaxation time of charge carriers. The effect of TiO6 a0a0c- in the SrTiO3 substrate on material properties is obvious with a large irreversible MR effect for thin films, which fades away with the increase in film thickness. At 10 K, the irreversible MR is 0.91 for the 12 nm film and 0.22 for the 30 nm film. This work extends current understanding on interfacial coupling to metastable status and could help explore other systems in the perovskite structure with octahedral rotation.

Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction at an Oxide/Ferromagnetic Metal Interface.

We report on the study of both perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) at an oxide/ferromagnetic metal (FM) interface, i.e., BaTiO_{3} (BTO)/CoFeB. Thanks to the functional properties of the BTO film and the capability to precisely control its growth, we are able to distinguish the dominant role of the oxide termination (TiO_{2} vs BaO) from the moderate effect of ferroelectric polarization in the BTO film, on the PMA and DMI at an oxide/FM interface. We find that the interfacial magnetic anisotropy energy of the BaO-BTO/CoFeB structure is 2 times larger than that of the TiO_{2}-BTO/CoFeB, while the DMI of the TiO_{2}-BTO/CoFeB interface is larger. We explain the observed phenomena by first principles calculations, which ascribe them to the different electronic states around the Fermi level at oxide/ferromagnetic metal interfaces and the different spin-flip process. This study paves the way for further investigation of the PMA and DMI at various oxide/FM structures and thus their applications in the promising field of energy-efficient devices.

Noise Modeling and Simulation of Giant Magnetic Impedance (GMI) Magnetic Sensor.

The detection resolution of a giant magneto-impedance (GMI) sensor is mainly limited by its equivalent input magnetic noise. The noise characteristics of a GMI sensor are evaluated by noise modeling and simulation, which can further optimize the circuit design. This paper first analyzes the noise source of the GMI sensor. It discusses the noise model of the circuit, the output sensitivity model and the modeling process of equivalent input magnetic noise. The noise characteristics of three modules that have the greatest impact on the output noise are then simulated. Finally, the simulation results are verified by experiments. By comparing the simulated noise spectrum curve and the experimental noise spectrum curve, it is demonstrated that the preamplifier and the multiplier contribute the most to the output white noise, and the low-pass filter plays a major role in the output 1/f noise. These modules should be given priority in the optimization of the noise of the conditioning circuit. The above results provide technical support for the practical application of low-noise GMI magnetometers.

Non-binary Colour Modulation for Display Device Based on Phase Change Materials.

A reflective-type display device based on phase change materials is attractive because of its ultrafast response time and high resolution compared with a conventional display device. This paper proposes and demonstrates a unique display device in which multicolour changing can be achieved on a single device by the selective crystallization of double layer phase change materials. The optical contrast is optimized by the availability of a variety of film thicknesses of two phase change layers. The device exhibits a low sensitivity to the angle of incidence, which is important for display and colour consistency. The non-binary colour rendering on a single device is demonstrated for the first time using optical excitation. The device shows the potential for ultrafast display applications.