Tunable Noncollinear Antiferromagnetic Resistive Memory through Oxide Superlattice Design

Abstract

Antiferromagnets (AFMs) have recently gathered a large amount of attention as a potential replacement for ferromagnets (FMs) in spintronic devices due to their lack of stray magnetic fields, invisibility to external magnetic probes, and faster magnetization dynamics. Their development into a practical technology, however, has been hampered by the small number of materials where the antiferromagnetic state can be both controlled and read out. We show here, that by relaxing the strict criterion on pure antiferromagnetism, we can engineer a new class of magnetic materials that overcome these limitations. This is accomplished by stabilizing a non-collinear magnetic phase in LaNiO3/La 2/3 Sr 1/3 MnO3 superlattices. This state can be continuously tuned between AFM and FM coupling through varying either superlattice spacing, strain, applied magnetic field, or temperature. By using this new "knob" to tune magnetic ordering, we take a nanoscale materialsby-design approach to engineering ferromagnetic-like controllability into antiferromagnetic synthetic magnetic structures. This approach can be used to trade off between the favorable and unfavorable properties of FMs and AFMs when designing realistic resistive antiferromagnetic memories. We demonstrate a memory device in one such superlattice, where the magnetic state of the non-collinear antiferromagnet is reversibly switched between different orientations using a small magnetic field and read out in real time with anisotropic magnetoresistance measurements.

Photonic‐Crafting of Non‐Volatile and Rewritable Antiferromagnetic Spin Textures with Drastic Difference in Electrical Conductivity

“…[1][2][3][4] That robustness against external perturbations, the capability to dense memory storages, and faster magnetization dynamics make AFM materials appealing for use in non-volatile data storage and information processing. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] However, the development of practical applications is challenging due to the common fact that for most AFM materials its spin alignment is hard to be controlled by external magnetic fields and other stimuli. This natural obstacle makes it difficult to write/read information with AFM materials.…”

Tunable spin-flop transition in artificial ferrimagnets

“…The antiferromagnetic systems are featured by spin-flop transition (SFT) when there is the transition from antiferromagnetic ordering to noncollinear (NC) state at magnetic field exceeding certain value H SP . Creation of noncollinear magnetic state and possibility to switch between AF and NC states may have useful applications by utilizing anomalous Hall or Nernst effects [6][7][8][9][10][11]. In addition, proximity of noncollinear magnetic texture to superconducting layer generates long-range triplet superconductivity which may also find diverse applications in superconducting spintronics [12][13][14][15][16].…”

Designing multi-level resistance states for multi-bit storage using half doped manganites

“…In spite of having tremendous functionality, the elemental segregation upon repeated cycling remains a major drawback for PCM cells [17][18][19][20][21][22]. In this context, the obvious question arises: can one design multiple resistance states by controlling the electronic phases, commonly seen in phase coexisted transition metal oxides [23][24][25][26][27][28][29] to overcome the problem of elemental segregation?…”