Room-Temperature, Current-Induced Magnetization Self-Switching in A Van Der Waals Ferromagnet

Hongrui Zhang; Xiang Chen; Tianye Wang; Xiaoxi Huang; Xianzhe Chen; Yu-Tsun Shao; Fanhao Meng; Peter Meisenheimer; Alpha N'Diaye; Christoph Klewe; Padraic Shafer; Hao Pan; Yanli Jia; Michael F Crommie; Lane W Martin; Jie Yao; Ziqiang Qiu; David A Muller; Robert J Birgeneau; Ramamoorthy Ramesh

doi:10.1002/adma.202308555

Room-Temperature, Current-Induced Magnetization Self-Switching in A Van Der Waals Ferromagnet

Adv Mater. 2024 Mar;36(9):e2308555. doi: 10.1002/adma.202308555. Epub 2023 Dec 14.

Authors

Hongrui Zhang^{1

2}, Xiang Chen^{2

3}, Tianye Wang³, Xiaoxi Huang¹, Xianzhe Chen^{1

2}, Yu-Tsun Shao^{4

5}, Fanhao Meng^{1

2}, Peter Meisenheimer¹, Alpha N'Diaye⁶, Christoph Klewe⁶, Padraic Shafer⁶, Hao Pan¹, Yanli Jia¹, Michael F Crommie^{2

3}, Lane W Martin^{1

2

7

8}, Jie Yao^{1

2}, Ziqiang Qiu³, David A Muller^{4

9}, Robert J Birgeneau^{2

3}, Ramamoorthy Ramesh^{1

2

3

10}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
² Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
³ Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
⁴ School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
⁵ Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.
⁶ Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
⁷ Departments of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Chemistry, and Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, TX, 77005, USA.
⁸ Rice Advanced Materials Institute, Rice University, Houston, TX, 77005, USA.
⁹ Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Physics and Astronomy, Department of Materials Science and Nanoengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, 77005, USA.

PMID: 38016700
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202308555

Abstract

2D layered materials with broken inversion symmetry are being extensively pursued as spin source layers to realize high-efficiency magnetic switching. Such low-symmetry layered systems are, however, scarce. In addition, most layered magnets with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy show a low Curie temperature. Here, the experimental observation of spin-orbit torque magnetization self-switching at room temperature in a layered polar ferromagnetic metal, Fe_2.5 Co_2.5 GeTe₂ is reported. The spin-orbit torque is generated from the broken inversion symmetry along the c-axis of the crystal. These results provide a direct pathway toward applicable 2D spintronic devices.

Keywords: current-induced magnetization self-switching; polar magnet; room temperature; spin-orbit torque; van der Waals materials.

Abstract

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