Efficient switching of 3-terminal magnetic tunnel junctions by the giant spin Hall effect of Pt85Hf15 alloy
Abstract
Recent research has indicated that introducing impurities that increase the resistivity of Pt can enhance the efficiency of the spin Hall torque it generates. Here, we directly demonstrate the usefulness of this strategy by fabricating prototype 3-terminal in-plane-magnetized magnetic tunnel junctions that utilize the spin Hall torque from a Pt85Hf15 alloy and measuring the critical currents for switching. We find that Pt85Hf15 reduces the switching current densities compared to pure Pt by approximately a factor of 2 for both quasi-static ramped current biases and nanosecond-scale current pulses, thereby proving the feasibility of this approach in assisting the development of efficient embedded magnetic memory technologies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Feb 05, 2018
- Source ID
- 10.1063/1.5021077
Entities
People
- Colin Jermain
- D. C. Ralph
- Graham E. Rowlands
- Minh-Hai Nguyen
- R. A. Buhrman
- Shengjie Shi
- Sriharsha V. Aradhya
Organizations
- Cornell University
- Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity
- National Science Foundation
- RTX