Magnetization switching by the interaction between spins and charges has greatly brightened the future of spintronic memories. [1][2][3][4][5][6] This has been evident in the rapid development of spin transfer torque-magnetic random-access memory (STT-MRAM) as a mainstream non-volatile memory technology, in which a spin-polarized current is injected into magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) for cell programming. 7-18 However, as cell areas scale down to meet density and power demands, conventional STT-MRAM suffers from serious endurance and reliability issues due to the aging of the ultrathin MgO barrier and read disturbance. The challenge of lowering STT switching current densities to further reduce power consumption is still yet to be met. [19][20][21] The discovery of spin-orbit torque (SOT) switching in heavy metal/ferromagnetic metal/oxide heterostructures by applying an in-plane charge current to three-terminal devices provides a promising alternative mechanism. 22-28 It shows the potential to enhance the endurance and reliability of MRAM, while improving speed and reducing power consumption. [29][30][31][32] Thus, considerable research has been triggered to further elucidate the mechanism of SOT switching, which is currently described as magnetic reversal via two vector components, the damping-like (DL) and field-like (FL) torques. 33,34 Since the demonstration of perpendicular-anisotropy MgO/CoFeB MTJs (p-MTJs), the switching of perpendicular magnetization by SOT has become of particular interest. [33][34][35][36][37][38] However, an external magnetic field collinear with the charge current is required to execute deterministic switching of p-MTJs. This intrinsic constraint, combined with the three-terminal device configuration, is limiting the practical application of SOT-MRAM. [26][27][28]35 Great efforts have been made to eliminate the need

Recent years have witnessed a rapidly growing interest in exploring the use of spin waves for information transmission and computation toward establishing a spin-wave-based technology that is not only significantly more energy efficient than the CMOS technology, but may also cause a major departure from the von-Neumann architecture by enabling memory-in-logic and logic-in-memory architectures. A major bottleneck of advancing this technology is the excitation of spin waves with short wavelengths, which is a must because the wavelength dictates device scalability. Here, we report the discovery of an approach for the excitation of nm-wavelength spin waves. The demonstration uses ferromagnetic nanowires grown on a 20-nm-thick Y3Fe5O12 film strip. The propagation of spin waves with a wavelength down to 50 nm over a distance of 60,000 nm is measured. The measurements yield a spin-wave group velocity as high as 2600 m s−1, which is faster than both domain wall and skyrmion motions.

Perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions based on MgO/CoFeB structures are of particular interest for magnetic random-access memories because of their excellent thermal stability, scaling potential, and power dissipation. However, the major challenge of current-induced switching in the nanopillars with both a large tunnel magnetoresistance ratio and a low junction resistance is still to be met. Here, we report spin transfer torque switching in nano-scale perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions with a magnetoresistance ratio up to 249% and a resistance area product as low as 7.0 Ω µm2, which consists of atom-thick W layers and double MgO/CoFeB interfaces. The efficient resonant tunnelling transmission induced by the atom-thick W layers could contribute to the larger magnetoresistance ratio than conventional structures with Ta layers, in addition to the robustness of W layers against high-temperature diffusion during annealing. The critical switching current density could be lower than 3.0 MA cm−2 for devices with a 45-nm radius.

Magnetic skyrmion, vortex-like swirling topologically stable spin configurations, is appealing as information carrier for future nanoelectronics, owing to the stability, small size and extremely low driving current density. One of the most promising applications of skyrmion is to build racetrack memory (RM). Compared to domain wall-based RM (DW-RM), skyrmion-based RM (Sky-RM) possesses quite a few benefits in terms of energy, density and speed etc. Until now, the fundamental behaviors, including nucleation/annihilation, motion and detection of skyrmion have been intensively investigated. However, one indispensable function, i.e., pinning/depinning of skyrmion still remains an open question and has to be addressed before applying skyrmion for RM. Furthermore, Current research mainly focuses on physical investigations, whereas the electrical design and evaluation are still lacking. In this work, we aim to promote the development of Sky-RM from fundamental physics to realistic electronics. First, we investigate the pinning/depinning characteristics of skyrmion in a nanotrack with the voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) effect. Then, we propose a compact model and design framework of Sky-RM for electrical evaluation. This work completes the elementary memory functionality of Sky-RM and fills the technical gap between the physicists and electronic engineers, making a significant step forward for the development of Sky-RM.

Current-induced spin-orbit torques (SOTs) are of interest for fast and energy-efficient manipulation of magnetic order in spintronic devices. To be deterministic, however, switching of perpendicularly magnetized materials by SOT requires a mechanism for in-plane symmetry breaking. Existing methods to do so involve the application of an in-plane bias magnetic field, or incorporation of in-plane structural asymmetry in the device, both of which can be difficult to implement in practical applications. Here, we report bias-field-free SOT switching in a single perpendicular CoTb layer with an engineered vertical composition gradient. The vertical structural inversion asymmetry induces strong intrinsic SOTs and a gradient-driven Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (g-DMI), which breaks the in-plane symmetry during the switching process. Micromagnetic simulations are in agreement with experimental results, and elucidate the role of g-DMI in the deterministic switching processes. This bias-field-free switching scheme for perpendicular ferrimagnets with g-DMI provides a strategy for efficient and compact SOT device design.