Electric-field-assisted non-volatile magnetic switching in a magnetoelectronic hybrid structure
Yuanjun Yang,
Zhenlin Luo,
Shutong Wang,
Wenyu Huang,
Guilin Wang,
Cangmin Wang,
Yingxue Yao,
Hongju Li,
Zhili Wang,
Jingtian Zhou,
Yongqi Dong,
Yong Guan,
Yangchao Tian,
Ce Feng,
Yonggang Zhao,
Chen Gao,
Gang Xiao
Affiliations
Yuanjun Yang
Department of Physics and Lab of Correlated Electron System and Spintronic Devices, School of Physics and School of Microelectronics, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, People's Republic of China; Corresponding author
Zhenlin Luo
National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China
Shutong Wang
Department of Physics, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
Wenyu Huang
Department of Physics and Lab of Correlated Electron System and Spintronic Devices, School of Physics and School of Microelectronics, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, People's Republic of China
Guilin Wang
Department of Physics and Lab of Correlated Electron System and Spintronic Devices, School of Physics and School of Microelectronics, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, People's Republic of China
Cangmin Wang
Department of Physics and Lab of Correlated Electron System and Spintronic Devices, School of Physics and School of Microelectronics, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, People's Republic of China
Yingxue Yao
Department of Physics and Lab of Correlated Electron System and Spintronic Devices, School of Physics and School of Microelectronics, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, People's Republic of China
Hongju Li
Department of Physics and Lab of Correlated Electron System and Spintronic Devices, School of Physics and School of Microelectronics, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, People's Republic of China
Zhili Wang
Department of Physics and Lab of Correlated Electron System and Spintronic Devices, School of Physics and School of Microelectronics, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, People's Republic of China
Jingtian Zhou
National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China
Yongqi Dong
National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China
Yong Guan
National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China
Yangchao Tian
National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China
Ce Feng
Department of Physics and State Key Laboratory of Low-Dimensional Quantum Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China
Yonggang Zhao
Department of Physics and State Key Laboratory of Low-Dimensional Quantum Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China
Chen Gao
National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China; School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China; Corresponding author
Gang Xiao
Department of Physics, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA; Corresponding author
Summary: Electric-field (E-field) control of magnetic switching provides an energy-efficient means to toggle the magnetic states in spintronic devices. The angular tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) of an magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ)/PMN-PT magnetoelectronic hybrid indicates that the angle-dependent switching fields of the free layer can decrease significantly subject to the application of an E-field. In particular, the switching field along the major axis is reduced by 59% from 28.0 to 11.5 Oe as the E-field increases from 0 to 6 kV/cm, while the TMR ratio remains intact. The switching boundary angle decreases (increases) for the parallel (antiparallel) to antiparallel (parallel) state switch, resulting in a shrunk switching window size. The non-volatile and reversible 180° magnetization switching is demonstrated by using E-fields with a smaller magnetic field bias as low as 11.5 Oe. The angular magnetic switching originates from competition among the E-field-induced magnetoelastic anisotropy, magnetic shape anisotropy, and Zeeman energy, which is confirmed by micromagnetic simulations.
