Dipole-coupled spin-orbit torque structure
AssigneeSamsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
InventorsDmytro Apalkov, Jaewoo Jeong, Ikhtiar, Roman Chepulskyy
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Abstract
A magnetic device is described. The magnetic device includes a magnetic junction, a spin-orbit interaction (SO) line and a dipole-coupled layer. The magnetic junction includes a free layer. The SO line is adjacent to the free layer, carries a current in-plane and exerts a SO torque on the free layer due to the current passing through the SO line. The free layer being switchable between stable magnetic states using the SO torque. The SO line is between the free layer and the dipole-coupled layer. The dipole-coupled layer is magnetically coupled to the free layer. At least one of the free layer and the dipole-coupled layer has a damping of greater than 0.02.
Claims20
A magnetic device, comprising:
- at least one magnetic junction including a free layer;
- a spin-orbit interaction (SO) line adjacent to the free layer, the SO line carrying a current in-plane and exerting an SO torque on the free layer due to the current passing through the SO line, the free layer being switchable between a plurality of stable magnetic states using the SO torque;
- and
- a dipole-coupled layer, the SO line residing between the free layer and the dipole-coupled layer, the dipole-coupled layer being magnetically coupled to the free layer, at least one of the free layer and the dipole-coupled layer having a damping of greater than 0.02.
The magnetic device of 10, wherein the free layer has a free layer thickness of at least 0.5 nanometers and not more than five nanometers, the dipole-coupled layer having a dipole-coupled thickness within 1.5 nanometer of the free layer thickness.
A magnetic device, comprising:
- a magnetic junction including a free layer, the free layer having a free layer energy barrier due to a free layer-only configuration;
- a spin-orbit interaction (SO) line adjacent to the free layer, the SO line carrying a current in-plane and exerting an SO torque on the free layer due to the current passing through the SO line, the free layer being switchable between a plurality of stable magnetic states using the SO torque;
- and
- a dipole-coupled layer, the SO line residing between the free layer and the dipole-coupled layer, at least one of the free layer and the dipole-coupled layer having a damping of greater than 0.02, the dipole-coupled layer being magnetically coupled to the free layer such that a combination of the dipole-coupled layer and the free layer has an effective energy barrier at least 1.5 multiplied by the free layer energy barrier.
A method for providing a magnetic device, comprising:
- providing a magnetic junction including a free layer;
- providing a spin-orbit interaction (SO) line adjacent to the free layer, the SO line carrying a current in-plane and exerting an SO torque on the free layer due to the current passing through the SO line, the free layer being switchable between a plurality of stable magnetic states using the SO torque;
- and
- providing a dipole-coupled layer, the SO line residing between the free layer and the dipole-coupled layer, the dipole-coupled layer being magnetically coupled to the free layer, at least one of the free layer and the dipole-coupled layer having a damping of greater than 0.02.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.