Angular dependence and symmetry of Rashba spin torque in ferromagnetic heterostructures

作者：Pauyac Christian Ortiz^*; Wang Xuhui; Chshiev Mairbek; Manchon Aurelien

来源：Applied Physics Letters, 2013, 102(25): 252403.

DOI：10.1063/1.4812663

In a ferromagnetic heterostructure, the interplay between Rashba spin-orbit coupling and exchange splitting gives rise to a current-driven spin torque. In a realistic device setup, we investigate the Rashba spin torque in the diffusive regime and report two major findings: (i) a nonvanishing torque exists at the edges of the device even when the magnetization and effective Rashba field are aligned; (ii) anisotropic spin relaxation rates driven by the Rashba spin-orbit coupling assign the spin torque a general expression T = T-parallel to(y)(theta)m x ((y) over cap x m) + T-perpendicular to(y)(theta)(y) over cap x m + T-parallel to(z)(theta)m x ((z) over cap x m)+T-perpendicular to(z)(theta)(z) over cap x m, where the coefficients T-parallel to,perpendicular to(y,z) depend on the magnetization direction. Our results agree with recent experiments.

• 出版日期2013-6-24
• 单位中国地震局