Field-free spin-orbit torque switching in ferromagnetic trilayers at sub-ns timescales

Field-free spin-orbit torque switching in ferromagnetic trilayers at sub-ns timescales

28 February 2024 | Qu Yang¹, Donghyeon Han², Shishun Zhao¹, Jaimin Kang², Fei Wang¹, Sung-Chul Lee³, Jiayu Lei¹, Kyung-Jin Lee⁴, Byong-Guk Park² & Hyunsoo Yang¹
A field-free spin-orbit torque (SOT) switching mechanism has been demonstrated in a CoFeB/Ti/CoFeB trilayer at sub-nanosecond timescales, meeting three key requirements for high-speed, energy-efficient spin-transfer torque (STT) memory applications: field-free switching, short incubation delay, and low switching current. The trilayer structure enables both in-plane and out-of-plane spin currents, with the in-plane component reducing incubation time and the out-of-plane component enabling field-free switching at low current. This approach achieves sub-ns switching with a current density 3-4 times lower than field-assisted methods, and the incubation time is estimated to be 0.0144-0.226 ns, significantly smaller than STT-based methods. Micromagnetic simulations confirm the role of out-of-plane spin currents in reducing switching current density. The results show that the trilayer structure enables ultrafast, energy-efficient SOT switching, which is promising for applications in high-speed spintronic memory and logic devices. The study highlights the potential of field-free SOT switching for next-generation memory technologies with reduced energy consumption and latency.A field-free spin-orbit torque (SOT) switching mechanism has been demonstrated in a CoFeB/Ti/CoFeB trilayer at sub-nanosecond timescales, meeting three key requirements for high-speed, energy-efficient spin-transfer torque (STT) memory applications: field-free switching, short incubation delay, and low switching current. The trilayer structure enables both in-plane and out-of-plane spin currents, with the in-plane component reducing incubation time and the out-of-plane component enabling field-free switching at low current. This approach achieves sub-ns switching with a current density 3-4 times lower than field-assisted methods, and the incubation time is estimated to be 0.0144-0.226 ns, significantly smaller than STT-based methods. Micromagnetic simulations confirm the role of out-of-plane spin currents in reducing switching current density. The results show that the trilayer structure enables ultrafast, energy-efficient SOT switching, which is promising for applications in high-speed spintronic memory and logic devices. The study highlights the potential of field-free SOT switching for next-generation memory technologies with reduced energy consumption and latency.
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