Switching of biaxial synthetic antiferromagnets: A micromagentic study

Abstract

We simulate the switching behavior of nanoscale synthetic antiferromagnets (SAFs), inspired by recent experimental progress in spin-orbit-torque switching of crystal antiferromagnets. The SAF consists of two ferromagnetic thin films with in-plane biaxial anisotropy and interlayer exchange coupling. Staggered field-like Rashba spin-orbit torques from the opposite surfaces of the SAF induce a canted net magnetization, which triggers an orthogonal torque that drives 90 • switching of the Néel vector. Such dynamics driven by the field-like spin-orbit torque allows for faster switching with increased Gilbert damping, without a significant detrimental increase of the threshold switching current density. Our results point to the potential of SAFs as model systems, based on simple ferromagnetic metals, to mimic antiferromagnetic device physics.

Spin-canting effects in GMR sensors with wide dynamic field range

“…For growing t Co the magnetic shape anisotropy increases, leading to a FL saturation at higher out-of-plane fields. Similarly, the FL magnetic saturation field is decreased to approximately 7.5 kOe for a sample with a type S c FL, where a layer of Co (30) with strong in-plane magnetic anisotropy is coupled to a ML with PMA, here represented with blue downwards triangles. Lastly, adding a CoFe(30) layer to the Co layer in the S d FL, shown as teal rectangle in Fig.…”

“…The high H ex in the reference system and the FL saturation field control are achieved by using Co/Pt multilayer (ML) systems [22,[24][25][26][27], where PMA stems from strong spin-orbit coupling and d -d orbital hybridization at the interface [24,28,29]. The behavior in magnetization reversal and magnetoresistance are further investigated through micromagnetic simulations, focusing on switching fields and spin-canting effects [30,31] within the p-SAF reference system.…”

Magnetic characterization of a thin Co2MnSi/L10–MnGa synthetic antiferromagnetic bilayer prepared by MBE*

“…Synthetic antiferromagnet (SAFM) consisting of two or more ferromagnetic layers that exhibit antiparallel magnetizations has been widely studied in recent years. [1][2][3][4][5] The SAFM shares the similar advantages to innate antiferromagnets, such as the reduced stray field and the enhanced magnetic stability in micro-nano device. Because the interlayer exchange coupling in SAFM is much weaker than that of bulk antiferromagnet, the antiferromagnetic order in SAFM can be manipulated and detected more easily, which is desirable for applications in spintronic devices including ultrafast magnetic random access memory (MRAM) and high frequency oscillators.…”