Current-induced reversal in magnetic nanopillars passivated by silicon

We demonstrate that magnetic multilayer nanopillars can be efficiently protected from oxidation by coating with silicon. Both the protected and the oxidized nanopillars exhibit an increase of reversal current at cryogenic temperatures. However the magnetic excitation onset current increases only in the oxidized samples. We show that oxidized nanopillars exhibit anomalous switching statistics at low temperature, providing a simple test for the quality of magnetic nanodevices.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure

Effect of Polarized Current on the Magnetic State of Antiferromagnet

We provide evidence for the effects of spin polarized current on a nanofabricated antiferromagnet incorporated into a spin-valve structure. Signatures of current-induced effects include bipolar steps in differential resistance, current-induced changes of exchange bias correlated with these steps, and deviations from the statistics expected for thermally activated switching of spin valves. We explain our observations by a combination of spin torque exerted on the interfacial antiferromagnetic moments, and electron-magnon scattering in antiferromagnet.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure