Switching of perpendicular magnetization via orbital-current-induced torque from light metal Ru
Abstract
Orbital torque (OT) harnesses orbital currents to electrically encode spin states, offering a promising route toward low-power spintronic devices. However, the microscopic mechanisms governing OT efficiency remain elusive. Here, we employ Ru, a light metal possessing positive spin and orbital Hall conductivities, as an orbital source to switch perpendicularly magnetized [Co/Pt]3 multilayers with a negative orbital-to-spin conversion coefficient. This configuration enables a clear separation between OT and conventional spin–orbit torque. We find that the OT efficiency decreases monotonically with increasing Ru thickness, confirming an interfacial rather than bulk origin of the orbital current. Notably, robust magnetization switching persists even for a Ru thickness of only 1 nm, achieving a critical switching current density of 1.9 × 107 A/cm2, nearly half that of the heavy-metal Pt reference. These findings not only elucidate the physical mechanism of OT but also establish key design principles for the development of energy-efficient orbitronic memory devices.
Article Details
Journal Info
Applied Physics Letters
American Institute of Physics
Authors (17)
Rui Hou
Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, The Key Laboratory of Anti-inflammatory of Immune Medicines, Ministry of Education, Anhui Institute of Innovative Drugs, School of Pharmacy, Anhui Medical University
Jiasen Cao
Key Laboratory of Magnetic Molecules and Magnetic Information Materials of Ministry of Education & School of Materials Science and Engineering of Shanxi Normal University 1 , Taiyuan 030006,
Jinnan Liu
Yaohui Du
Key Laboratory of Magnetic Molecules and Magnetic Information Materials of Ministry of Education & School of Materials Science and Engineering of Shanxi Normal University 1 , Taiyuan 030006,
Bingyue Bian
Key Laboratory of Magnetic Molecules and Magnetic Information Materials of Ministry of Education & School of Materials Science and Engineering of Shanxi Normal University 1 , Taiyuan 030006,
Wenjie Wu
Min Wang
Mengyang Yan
Key Laboratory of Magnetic Molecules and Magnetic Information Materials of Ministry of Education & School of Materials Science and Engineering of Shanxi Normal University 1 , Taiyuan 030006,
Jia-Min Lai
Key Laboratory of Magnetic Molecules and Magnetic Information Materials of Ministry of Education & School of Materials Science and Engineering of Shanxi Normal University 1 , Taiyuan 030006,
Xinlong Dong
School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Shanxi Normal University 2 , Taiyuan 030031,
Zhengyu Xiao
State Key Laboratory for Spintronic Devices and Technologies 2 , Hangzhou 311300,
Yakun Liu
Delin Zhang
Zhonghai Yu
Zhiyong Quan
Fei Wang
Xiaohong Xu
Research Institute of Materials Science of Shanxi Normal University & Key Laboratory of Magnetic Molecules and Magnetic Information Materials of Ministry of Education