Electric-field control of interfacial spin–orbit fields

Abstract

Current-induced spin–orbit magnetic fields, which arise in single-crystalline ferromagnets with broken inversion symmetry and in non-magnetic metal/ferromagnetic metal bilayers, produce spin–orbit torques that can be used to manipulate the magnetization of a ferromagnet. In single-crystalline Fe/GaAs (001) heterostructures, for example, interfacial spin–orbit magnetic fields emerge at the Fe/GaAs interface due to the lack of inversion symmetry. To develop low-power spin–orbit torque devices, it is important to have electric-field control over such spin–orbit magnetic fields. Here, we show that the current-induced spin–orbit magnetic fields at the Fe/GaAs (001) interface can be controlled with an electric field. In particular, by applying a gate voltage across the Fe/GaAs interface, the interfacial spin–orbit field vector acting on Fe can be robustly modulated via a change in the magnitude of the interfacial spin–orbit interaction. Our results illustrate that the electric field in a Schottky barrier is capable of modifying spin–orbit magnetic fields, an effect that could be used to develop spin–orbit torque devices with low power consumption. Current-induced spin–orbit magnetic fields at an Fe/GaAs (001) interface can be controlled with an electric field in the Schottky barrier, an effect that could be used to develop low-power spin–orbit torque devices.

Cite this article

Chen, L., Gmitra, M., Vogel, M. et al. Electric-field control of interfacial spin–orbit fields. Nat Electron 1, 350–355 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-018-0085-1

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