Spin-Orbit torques: Going in the right direction

A connection between low crystalline symmetry and the allowed symmetries of the current-induced torques generated through the spin–orbit interaction opens up their use in devices with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

Spin polarization control through resonant states in an Fe/GaAs Schottky barrier

Spin polarization of the tunnel conductivity has been studied for Fe/GaAs junctions with Schottky barriers. It is shown that band matching of resonant interface states within the Schottky barrier defines the sign of spin polarization of electrons transported through the barrier. The results account very well for experimental results including the tunneling of photo-excited electrons, and suggest that the spin polarization (from -100% to 100%) is dependent on the Schottky barrier height. They also suggest that the sign of the spin polarization can be controlled with a bias voltage.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Spintronics: Anatomy of spin–orbit torques

The use of time-resolved X-ray microscopy allows a direct visualization of the magnetization switching for nanomagnets under the effect of spin–orbit torques

Magnon-magnon coupling in synthetic ferrimagnets

Magnetic multilayers with interlayer exchange coupling have been widely studied for both static and dynamic regimes. Their dynamical responses depend on the exchange coupling strength and magnetic properties of individual layers. Magnetic resonance spectra in such systems are conveniently discussed in terms of coupling of acoustic and optical modes. At a certain value of applied magnetic field, the two modes come close to being degenerate and the spectral gap indicates the strength of mode hybridization. In this work, we theoretically and experimentally study the mode hybridization of interlayer-exchange-coupled moments with dissimilar magnetization and thickness of two ferromagnetic layers. In agreement with symmetry analysis for eigenmodes, our low-symmetry multilayers exhibit sizable spectral gaps for all experimental conditions. The spectra agree well with the predictions from the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation at the macrospin limit whose parameters are independently fixed by static measurements