Direct experimental determination of the anisotropic magnetoresistive effects (original) (raw)

Longitudinal and transverse magnetoresistance in films with tilted out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy

Physical review, 2019

Tilted off-plane magnetic anisotropy induces two unusual characteristic magnetotransport phenomena: extraordinary Hall effect in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field, and non-monotonic anisotropic magnetoresistance in the presence of a field normal to the sample plane. We show experimentally that these effects are generic, appearing in multiple ferromagnetic systems with tilted anisotropy introduced either by oblique deposition from a single source or in binary systems co-deposited from separate sources. We present a theoretical model demonstrating that these observations are natural results of the standard extraordinary Hall effect and anisotropic magnetoresistance, when the titled anisotropy is properly accounted for. Such a scenario may help explaining various previous intriguing measurements by other groups.

Voltage-Controlled Magnetic Anisotropy in Spintronic Devices

SPIN, 2012

Electric-field-control of magnetism can dramatically improve the energy efficiency of spintronic devices and enhance the performance of magnetic memories. More generally, it expands the range of applications of nonvolatile spintronic devices, by making them energetically competitive compared to conventional semiconductor solutions for logic and computation, thereby potentially enabling a new generation of ultralow-power nonvolatile spintronic systems. This paper reviews recent experiments on the voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) effect in thin magnetic films, and their device implications. The interfacial perpendicular anisotropy in layered magnetic material stacks, as well as its modulation by voltage, are discussed. Ferromagnetic resonance experiments and VCMA-induced high-frequency magnetization dynamics are reviewed. Finally, we discuss recent progress on voltage-induced switching of magnetic tunnel junction devices and its potential applications to magnetic random a...

Antisymmetric Magnetoresistance in Magnetic Multilayers with Perpendicular Anisotropy

Physical Review Letters, 2005

While magnetoresistance (MR) has generally been found to be symmetric in applied field in nonmagnetic or magnetic metals, we have observed antisymmetric MR in Co/Pt multilayers. Simultaneous domain imaging and transport measurements show that the antisymmetric MR is due to the appearance of domain walls that run perpendicular to both the magnetization and the current, a geometry existing only in materials with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. As a result, the extraordinary Hall effect gives rise to circulating currents in the vicinity of the domain walls that contributes to the MR. The antisymmetric MR and extraordinary Hall effect have been quantitatively accounted for by a theoretical model.

Current-induced magnetization reversal in nanopillars with perpendicular anisotropy

Nature Materials, 2006

Devices that show a magnetic anisotropy normal to the film surface hold great promise towards faster and smaller magnetic bits in data-storage applications. We describe an experimental demonstration of current-induced magnetic reversal of nanopillars with perpendicular anisotropy and high coercive fields. The best results are observed for Co/Ni multilayers, which have higher giant magnetoresistance values and spin-torque efficiencies than Co/Pt multilayers. The reference layers were designed to have significantly higher anisotropy allowing a complete current-field phase diagram of the free-layer reversal to be explored. The results are compared to micromagnetic modelling of the free layer that, depending on the bias current and applied field, details regions of irreversible magnetic switching, coherent and incoherent spin waves, or static non-uniform magnetization states. This ability to manipulate high-anisotropy magnetic elements could prove useful for a range of spintronic applications.

Ferromagnetic Multilayers: Magnetoresistance, Magnetic Anisotropy, and Beyond

Magnetochemistry, 2016

Obtaining highly sensitive ferromagnetic, FM, and nonmagnetic, NM, multilayers with a large room-temperature magnetoresistance, MR, and strong magnetic anisotropy, MA, under a small externally applied magnetic field, H, remains a subject of scientific and technical interest. Recent advances in nanofabrication and characterization techniques have further opened up several new ways through which MR, sensitivity to H, and MA of the FM/NM multilayers could be dramatically improved in miniature devices such as smart spin-valves based biosensors, non-volatile magnetic random access memory, and spin transfer torque nano-oscillators. This review presents in detail the fabrication and characterization of a few representative FM/NM multilayered films-including the nature and origin of MR, mechanism associated with spin-dependent conductivity and artificial generation of MA. In particular, a special attention is given to the Pulsed-current deposition technique and on the potential industrial applications and future prospects. FM multilayers presented in this review are already used in real-life applications such as magnetic sensors in automobile and computer industries. These material are extremely important as they have the capability to efficiently replace presently used magnetic sensors in automobile, electronics, biophysics, and medicine, among many others.

Flipping field and stability in anisotropic magnetoresistive sensors

Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 2003

Switched-capacitor flipping circuits developed for Philips KMZ51 and KMZ52 anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) sensors give up to 2.8 A/1 kHz current peaks. Such unusually high current deeply saturates the sensor and thus removes hysteresis, reduces noise, and increases the resistance against field shocks. These necessary strong flipping fields are predicted by the energetic model (EM), applied to the magnetization reversal in thin films. The EM parameters have been correlated to microscopic variables, revealing the field dependence of the speed of magnetization reversal. This is responsible for the value of the critical switching field (and therefore for the stability of the AMR sensor) in the easy axis directions, depending on the saturating field amplitude.

Electrical detection of magnetization reversal without auxiliary magnets

Physical Review B

First-generation magnetic random access memories based on anisotropic magnetoresistance required magnetic fields for both writing and reading. Modern all-electrical read/write memories use instead non-relativistic spin-transport connecting the storing magnetic layer with a reference ferromagnet. Recent studies have focused on electrical manipulation of magnetic moments by relativistic spin-torques requiring no reference ferromagnet. Here we report the observation of a counterpart magnetoresistance effect in such a relativistic system which allows us to electrically detect the sign of the magnetization without an auxiliary magnetic field or ferromagnet. We observe the effect in a geometry in which the magnetization of a uniaxial (Ga,Mn)As epilayer is set either parallel or antiparallel to a current-induced non-equilibrium spin polarization of carriers. In our structure, this linear-in-current magnetoresistance reaches 0.2\% at current density of 10610^6106 A cm$^{-2}$.

magnetochemistry Review Ferromagnetic Multilayers: Magnetoresistance, Magnetic Anisotropy, and Beyond

Obtaining highly sensitive ferromagnetic, FM, and nonmagnetic, NM, multilayers with a large room-temperature magnetoresistance, MR, and strong magnetic anisotropy, MA, under a small externally applied magnetic field, H, remains a subject of scientific and technical interest. Recent advances in nanofabrication and characterization techniques have further opened up several new ways through which MR, sensitivity to H, and MA of the FM/NM multilayers could be dramatically improved in miniature devices such as smart spin-valves based biosensors, non-volatile magnetic random access memory, and spin transfer torque nano-oscillators. This review presents in detail the fabrication and characterization of a few representative FM/NM multilayered films—including the nature and origin of MR, mechanism associated with spin-dependent conductivity and artificial generation of MA. In particular, a special attention is given to the Pulsed-current deposition technique and on the potential industrial applications and future prospects. FM multilayers presented in this review are already used in real-life applications such as magnetic sensors in automobile and computer industries. These material are extremely important as they have the capability to efficiently replace presently used magnetic sensors in automobile, electronics, biophysics, and medicine, among many others.

Route Towards Efficient Magnetization Reversal Driven by Voltage Control of Magnetic Anisotropy

2021

The voltage controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) becomes a subject of major interest for spintronics due to its promising potential outcome: fast magnetization manipulation in magnetoresistive random access memories with enhanced storage density and very low power consumption. Using a macrospin approach, we carried out a thorough analysis of the role of the VCMA on the magnetization dynamics of nanostructures with out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy. Diagrams of the magnetization switching have been computed depending on the material and experiment parameters (surface anisotropy, Gilbert damping, duration/amplitude of electric and magnetic field pulses) thus allowing predictive sets of parameters for optimum switching experiments. Two characteristic times of the trajectory of the magnetization were analyzed analytically and numerically setting a lower limit for the duration of the pulses. An interesting switching regime has been identified where the precessional reversal of magnetizat...