2016/05/31 by Sriharsha V. Aradhya, Graham E. Rowlands, Junseok Oh +4 · 4 citations
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Memory and Neural Computing #Computer science #Condensed matter physics #Ferromagnetism #Hall effect #Magnetic field #Magnetic properties of thin films #Magnetic storage #Magnetization #Magnetoresistive random-access memory #Nanosecond #Optics #Physics #Quantum and electron transport phenomena #Spin (aerodynamics) #Spin Hall effect #Spin polarization #Spin-transfer torque #Torque #Tunnel magnetoresistance #cond-mat.mes-hall #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
paper · pdf · doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b01443
To appear in Nano Letters October 2016 print issue as cover article
arxiv created 2016/06/21 · arxiv updated 2016/06/22 · openalex publication_date 2016/06/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We investigate fast-pulse switching of in-plane-magnetized magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) within 3-terminal devices in which spin-transfer torque is applied to the MTJ by the giant spin Hall effect. We measure reliable switching, with write error rates down to 10 –5, using current pulses as short as just 2 ns in duration. This represents the fastest reliable switching reported to date for any spin-torque-driven magnetic memory geometry and corresponds to a characteristic time scale that is significantly shorter than predicted possible within a macrospin model for in-plane MTJs subject to thermal fluctuations at room temperature. Using micromagnetic simulations, we show that in the three-terminal spin-Hall devices the Oersted magnetic field generated by the pulse current strongly modifies the magnetic dynamics excited by the spin-Hall torque, enabling this unanticipated performance improvement. Our results suggest that in-plane MTJs controlled by Oersted-field-assisted spin-Hall torque are a promising candidate for both cache memory applications requiring high speed and for cryogenic memories requiring low write energies.