Harnessing orbital Hall effect in spin-orbit torque MRAM
Abstract Spin-Orbit Torque (SOT) Magnetic Random-Access Memory (MRAM) devices offer improved power efficiency, nonvolatility, and performance compared to static RAM, making them ideal, for instance, for cache memory applications. Efficient magnetization switching, long data retention, and high-densi...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55437-x |
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| author | Rahul Gupta Chloé Bouard Fabian Kammerbauer J. Omar Ledesma-Martin Arnab Bose Iryna Kononenko Sylvain Martin Perrine Usé Gerhard Jakob Marc Drouard Mathias Kläui |
| author_facet | Rahul Gupta Chloé Bouard Fabian Kammerbauer J. Omar Ledesma-Martin Arnab Bose Iryna Kononenko Sylvain Martin Perrine Usé Gerhard Jakob Marc Drouard Mathias Kläui |
| author_sort | Rahul Gupta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Spin-Orbit Torque (SOT) Magnetic Random-Access Memory (MRAM) devices offer improved power efficiency, nonvolatility, and performance compared to static RAM, making them ideal, for instance, for cache memory applications. Efficient magnetization switching, long data retention, and high-density integration in SOT MRAM require ferromagnets (FM) with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) combined with large torques enhanced by Orbital Hall Effect (OHE). We have engineered a PMA [Co/Ni]3 FM on selected OHE layers (Ru, Nb, Cr) and investigated the potential of theoretically predicted larger orbital Hall conductivity (OHC) to quantify the torque and switching current in OHE/[Co/Ni]3 stacks. Our results demonstrate a ~30% enhancement in damping-like torque efficiency with a positive sign for the Ru OHE layer compared to a pure Pt layer, accompanied by a ~20% reduction in switching current for Ru compared to pure Pt across more than 250 devices, leading to more than a 60% reduction in switching power. These findings validate the application of Ru in devices relevant to industrial contexts, supporting theoretical predictions regarding its superior OHC. This investigation highlights the potential of enhanced orbital torques to improve the performance of orbital-assisted SOT-MRAM, paving the way for next-generation memory technology. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-07afab04a7bf4b349e5bd5db3967cc4b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-07afab04a7bf4b349e5bd5db3967cc4b2025-01-05T12:38:14ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-011611710.1038/s41467-024-55437-xHarnessing orbital Hall effect in spin-orbit torque MRAMRahul Gupta0Chloé Bouard1Fabian Kammerbauer2J. Omar Ledesma-Martin3Arnab Bose4Iryna Kononenko5Sylvain Martin6Perrine Usé7Gerhard Jakob8Marc Drouard9Mathias Kläui10Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University MainzAntaiosInstitute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University MainzInstitute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University MainzInstitute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University MainzInstitute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University MainzAntaiosAntaiosInstitute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University MainzAntaiosInstitute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University MainzAbstract Spin-Orbit Torque (SOT) Magnetic Random-Access Memory (MRAM) devices offer improved power efficiency, nonvolatility, and performance compared to static RAM, making them ideal, for instance, for cache memory applications. Efficient magnetization switching, long data retention, and high-density integration in SOT MRAM require ferromagnets (FM) with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) combined with large torques enhanced by Orbital Hall Effect (OHE). We have engineered a PMA [Co/Ni]3 FM on selected OHE layers (Ru, Nb, Cr) and investigated the potential of theoretically predicted larger orbital Hall conductivity (OHC) to quantify the torque and switching current in OHE/[Co/Ni]3 stacks. Our results demonstrate a ~30% enhancement in damping-like torque efficiency with a positive sign for the Ru OHE layer compared to a pure Pt layer, accompanied by a ~20% reduction in switching current for Ru compared to pure Pt across more than 250 devices, leading to more than a 60% reduction in switching power. These findings validate the application of Ru in devices relevant to industrial contexts, supporting theoretical predictions regarding its superior OHC. This investigation highlights the potential of enhanced orbital torques to improve the performance of orbital-assisted SOT-MRAM, paving the way for next-generation memory technology.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55437-x |
| spellingShingle | Rahul Gupta Chloé Bouard Fabian Kammerbauer J. Omar Ledesma-Martin Arnab Bose Iryna Kononenko Sylvain Martin Perrine Usé Gerhard Jakob Marc Drouard Mathias Kläui Harnessing orbital Hall effect in spin-orbit torque MRAM Nature Communications |
| title | Harnessing orbital Hall effect in spin-orbit torque MRAM |
| title_full | Harnessing orbital Hall effect in spin-orbit torque MRAM |
| title_fullStr | Harnessing orbital Hall effect in spin-orbit torque MRAM |
| title_full_unstemmed | Harnessing orbital Hall effect in spin-orbit torque MRAM |
| title_short | Harnessing orbital Hall effect in spin-orbit torque MRAM |
| title_sort | harnessing orbital hall effect in spin orbit torque mram |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55437-x |
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