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Huang M, Hasan MU, Klyukin K, Zhang D, Lyu D, Gargiani P, Valvidares M, Sheffels S, Churikova A, Büttner F, Zehner J, Caretta L, Lee KY, Chang J, Wang JP, Leistner K, Yildiz B, Beach GSD. Voltage control of ferrimagnetic order and voltage-assisted writing of ferrimagnetic spin textures. Nat Nanotechnol 2021; 16:981-988. [PMID: 34326528 DOI: 10.1038/s41565-021-00940-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Voltage control of magnetic order is desirable for spintronic device applications, but 180° magnetization switching is not straightforward because electric fields do not break time-reversal symmetry. Ferrimagnets are promising candidates for 180° switching owing to a multi-sublattice configuration with opposing magnetic moments of different magnitudes. In this study we used solid-state hydrogen gating to control the ferrimagnetic order in rare earth-transition metal thin films dynamically. Electric field-induced hydrogen loading/unloading in GdCo can shift the magnetic compensation temperature by more than 100 K, which enables control of the dominant magnetic sublattice. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements and ab initio calculations indicate that the magnetization control originates from the weakening of antiferromagnetic exchange coupling that reduces the magnetization of Gd more than that of Co upon hydrogenation. We observed reversible, gate voltage-induced net magnetization switching and full 180° Néel vector reversal in the absence of external magnetic fields. Furthermore, we generated ferrimagnetic spin textures, such as chiral domain walls and skyrmions, in racetrack devices through hydrogen gating. With gating times as short as 50 μs and endurance of more than 10,000 cycles, our method provides a powerful means to tune ferrimagnetic spin textures and dynamics, with broad applicability in the rapidly emerging field of ferrimagnetic spintronics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mantao Huang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Muhammad Usama Hasan
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Konstantin Klyukin
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Delin Zhang
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Deyuan Lyu
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | | | | | - Sara Sheffels
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Alexandra Churikova
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Felix Büttner
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jonas Zehner
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Electrochemical Sensing and Energy Storage, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany
- Leibniz IFW Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Lucas Caretta
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ki-Young Lee
- Center for Spintronics, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul, Korea
| | - Joonyeon Chang
- Center for Spintronics, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul, Korea
- Yonsei-KIST Convergence Research Institute, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
| | - Jian-Ping Wang
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Karin Leistner
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Electrochemical Sensing and Energy Storage, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany
- Leibniz IFW Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Bilge Yildiz
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Geoffrey S D Beach
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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Büttner F, Pfau B, Böttcher M, Schneider M, Mercurio G, Günther CM, Hessing P, Klose C, Wittmann A, Gerlinger K, Kern LM, Strüber C, von Korff Schmising C, Fuchs J, Engel D, Churikova A, Huang S, Suzuki D, Lemesh I, Huang M, Caretta L, Weder D, Gaida JH, Möller M, Harvey TR, Zayko S, Bagschik K, Carley R, Mercadier L, Schlappa J, Yaroslavtsev A, Le Guyarder L, Gerasimova N, Scherz A, Deiter C, Gort R, Hickin D, Zhu J, Turcato M, Lomidze D, Erdinger F, Castoldi A, Maffessanti S, Porro M, Samartsev A, Sinova J, Ropers C, Mentink JH, Dupé B, Beach GSD, Eisebitt S. Observation of fluctuation-mediated picosecond nucleation of a topological phase. Nat Mater 2021; 20:30-37. [PMID: 33020615 DOI: 10.1038/s41563-020-00807-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Topological states of matter exhibit fascinating physics combined with an intrinsic stability. A key challenge is the fast creation of topological phases, which requires massive reorientation of charge or spin degrees of freedom. Here we report the picosecond emergence of an extended topological phase that comprises many magnetic skyrmions. The nucleation of this phase, followed in real time via single-shot soft X-ray scattering after infrared laser excitation, is mediated by a transient topological fluctuation state. This state is enabled by the presence of a time-reversal symmetry-breaking perpendicular magnetic field and exists for less than 300 ps. Atomistic simulations indicate that the fluctuation state largely reduces the topological energy barrier and thereby enables the observed rapid and homogeneous nucleation of the skyrmion phase. These observations provide fundamental insights into the nature of topological phase transitions, and suggest a path towards ultrafast topological switching in a wide variety of materials through intermediate fluctuating states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Büttner
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Helmholtz-Zentrum für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Berlin, Germany.
| | | | - Marie Böttcher
- Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | | | | | - Christian M Günther
- Zentraleinrichtung Elektronenmikroskopie (ZELMI), Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Institut für Optik und Atomare Physik, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | - Angela Wittmann
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Alexandra Churikova
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Siying Huang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Daniel Suzuki
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ivan Lemesh
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Mantao Huang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Lucas Caretta
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - John H Gaida
- 4th Physical Institute, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Marcel Möller
- 4th Physical Institute, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Tyler R Harvey
- 4th Physical Institute, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sergey Zayko
- 4th Physical Institute, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Kai Bagschik
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Jun Zhu
- European XFEL, Schenefeld, Germany
| | | | | | - Florian Erdinger
- Institute of Computer Engineering, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Andrea Castoldi
- Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Milano, Milano, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Jairo Sinova
- Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Claus Ropers
- 4th Physical Institute, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Johan H Mentink
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Bertrand Dupé
- Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany
- Nanomat/Q-mat/CESAM, Université de Liège, Belgium and Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS), Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Geoffrey S D Beach
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Stefan Eisebitt
- Max-Born-Institut, Berlin, Germany
- Institut für Optik und Atomare Physik, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Caretta L, Mann M, Büttner F, Ueda K, Pfau B, Günther CM, Hessing P, Churikova A, Klose C, Schneider M, Engel D, Marcus C, Bono D, Bagschik K, Eisebitt S, Beach GSD. Fast current-driven domain walls and small skyrmions in a compensated ferrimagnet. Nat Nanotechnol 2018; 13:1154-1160. [PMID: 30224795 DOI: 10.1038/s41565-018-0255-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2018] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Spintronics is a research field that aims to understand and control spins on the nanoscale and should enable next-generation data storage and manipulation. One technological and scientific key challenge is to stabilize small spin textures and to move them efficiently with high velocities. For a long time, research focused on ferromagnetic materials, but ferromagnets show fundamental limits for speed and size. Here, we circumvent these limits using compensated ferrimagnets. Using ferrimagnetic Pt/Gd44Co56/TaOx films with a sizeable Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, we realize a current-driven domain wall motion with a speed of 1.3 km s-1 near the angular momentum compensation temperature (TA) and room-temperature-stable skyrmions with minimum diameters close to 10 nm near the magnetic compensation temperature (TM). Both the size and dynamics of the ferrimagnet are in excellent agreement with a simplified effective ferromagnet theory. Our work shows that high-speed, high-density spintronics devices based on current-driven spin textures can be realized using materials in which TA and TM are close together.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas Caretta
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Maxwell Mann
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Felix Büttner
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Kohei Ueda
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Christian M Günther
- Max-Born-Institut, Berlin, Germany
- Institut für Optik und Atomare Physik, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Alexandra Churikova
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Colin Marcus
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - David Bono
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Kai Bagschik
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), FS-PE, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Eisebitt
- Max-Born-Institut, Berlin, Germany
- Institut für Optik und Atomare Physik, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Geoffrey S D Beach
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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