Irrelevance of magnetic proximity effect to spin-orbit torques in heavy-metal/ferromagnet bilayers

The magnetic proximity effect (MPE) is a well-established magnetic phenomenon that occurs at certain heavy-metal (HM)/ferromagnet (FM) interfaces. However, there is still an active debate as to whether the presence of a MPE affects spin transport through such a HM/FM interface. Here we demonstrate t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. B 2018-10, Vol.98 (13), p.134406, Article 134406
Main Authors: Zhu, L. J., Ralph, D. C., Buhrman, R. A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cobalt
Ferromagnetism
Hall effect
Proximity effect (electricity)
Torque
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Summary:The magnetic proximity effect (MPE) is a well-established magnetic phenomenon that occurs at certain heavy-metal (HM)/ferromagnet (FM) interfaces. However, there is still an active debate as to whether the presence of a MPE affects spin transport through such a HM/FM interface. Here we demonstrate that the MPE at Pt/Co and Au0.25Pt0.75/Co interfaces can be enhanced substantially by thermal annealing protocols. From this ability, we show that the MPE has no discernible influence on either the dampinglike or the fieldlike spin-orbit torques exerted on the FM layer due to the spin Hall effect of the HM layer, indicating a minimal role of the MPE compared to other interfacial effects, e.g., spin memory loss and spin backflow.
ISSN:2469-9950
2469-9969
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevB.98.134406