2026/06/30 by Taiyang Zhang, Lujun Zhu, Qianbiao Liu +1 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.mes-hall #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
arxiv created 2026/08/04 · arxiv updated 2026/08/05
α-phased W was theoretically predicted to have a negative spin Hall conductivity and a positive orbital Hall conductivity at the same time, leaving the physical origin of the current-induced torque a critical open question. Here, we develop two angular momentum detectors of Cu/Ni/Cu and Cu/Fe60Co20B20/Cu that are free of artifacts torques (e.g., self-induced torque and spin-vorticity torque) and clarify that the spin-orbit torque contributed by α-W remains negative and predominantly from the spin Hall effect in the entire thickness regime. The damping-like torque exhibits a monotonic decay as the W thickness increases above 5 nm likely due to the thickness-dependent structural evolution and resistivity reduction of the W layer. The negative torque in the entire thickness regime suggests negligible orbital Hall torque from α-W. This result is consistent with the theory that the orbital Hall effect from simplified band structure calculations is not a non-local angular momentum source.