2016/01/25 by T. Devolder, Joo-Von Kim, Felipe García‐Sánchez +10 · 67 citations
Chemistry · Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Antiparallel (mathematics) #Chemistry #Condensed matter physics #Ferromagnetism #Geometry #Instability #Magnetic field #Magnetic properties of thin films #Materials science #Mathematics #Mechanics #Nucleation #Oscillation (cell signaling) #Perpendicular #Physics #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Quantum mechanics #Spin (aerodynamics) #Theoretical and Computational Physics #Torque #Tunnel magnetoresistance #Voltage #cond-mat.mes-hall
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.93.024420
published in Physical review. B./Physical review. B 93(2) (American Physical Society)
openalex publication_date 2016/01/25 · arxiv created 2016/02/02 · arxiv updated 2016/02/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We study nanosecond-scale spin-torque-induced switching in perpendicularly magnetized tunnel junctions. Although the switching voltages match with the macrospin instability threshold, the electrical signatures of the reversal indicate the presence of domain walls in junctions of various sizes. In the antiparallel (AP)-to-parallel (P) switching, a nucleation phase is followed by an irreversible flow of a wall through the sample at an average velocity of 40 m/s with back-and-forth oscillation movements indicating a Walker propagation regime. A model with a single wall locally responding to the spin torque reproduces the essential dynamical signatures of the reversal. The P-to-AP transition has a complex dynamics with dynamical back-hopping whose probability increases with voltage. We attribute this back-hopping to the instability of the nominally fixed layers.