2014/10/30 by J. Zelezny, H. Gao, K. Vyborny +6 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.113.157201
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 157201 (2014) · 5 pages, 4 figures
arxiv created 2014/10/30 · arxiv updated 2016/11/25
We predict that a lateral electrical current in antiferromagnets can induce non-equilibrium Néel order fields, i.e. fields whose sign alternates between the spin sublattices, which can trigger ultra-fast spin-axis reorientation. Based on microscopic transport theory calculations we identify staggered current-induced fields analogous to the intra-band and to the intrinsic inter-band spin-orbit fields previously reported in ferromagnets with a broken inversion-symmetry crystal. To illustrate their rich physics and utility, we considered bulk Mn2Au with the two spin sublattices forming inversion partners, and a 2D square-lattice antiferromagnet with broken structural inversion symmetry modelled by a Rashba spin-orbit coupling. We propose an AFM memory device with electrical writing and reading.