Current-driven dynamics of chiral ferromagnetic domain walls
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Beach_Current-driven.pdf
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Author(s)
Emori, Satoru
Bauer, Uwe
Ahn, Sung-Min
Martinez, Eduardo
Beach, Geoffrey Stephen
Date Issued
June 2013
Journal
Nature Materials
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Citation
Emori, Satoru, Uwe Bauer, Sung-Min Ahn, Eduardo Martinez, and Geoffrey S. D. Beach. “Current-Driven Dynamics of Chiral Ferromagnetic Domain Walls.” Nature Materials 12, no. 7 (June 16, 2013): 611–616.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
In most ferromagnets the magnetization rotates from one domain to the next with no preferred handedness. However, broken inversion symmetry can lift the chiral degeneracy, leading to topologically rich spin textures such as spin spirals and skyrmions through the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI). Here we show that in ultrathin metallic ferromagnets sandwiched between a heavy metal and an oxide, the DMI stabilizes chiral domain walls (DWs) whose spin texture enables extremely efficient current-driven motion. We show that spin torque from the spin Hall effect drives DWs in opposite directions in Pt/CoFe/MgO and Ta/CoFe/MgO, which can be explained only if the DWs assume a Néel configuration with left-handed chirality. We directly confirm the DW chirality and rigidity by examining current-driven DW dynamics with magnetic fields applied perpendicular and parallel to the spin spiral. This work resolves the origin of controversial experimental results and highlights a new path towards interfacial design of spintronic devices.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3675
