Orbital torque switching of room temperature two-dimensional van der Waals ferromagnet FeGaTe.

Efficiently manipulating the magnetization of van der Waals (vdW) ferromagnets has attracted considerable interest in developing room-temperature two-dimensional (2D) material-based memory and logic devices. Here, taking advantage of the unique properties of the vdW ferromagnet as well as promising characteristics of the orbital Hall effect, we demonstrate the room-temperature magnetization switching of vdW ferromagnet FeGaTe through the orbital torque generated by the orbital Hall material, Titanium (Ti). The switching current density is estimated to be around 1.6×10A/cm, comparable to that achieved in FeGaTe using spin-orbit torque from spin Hall materials (e.g., WTe, and TaIrTe). The efficient magnetization switching arises from the combined effects of the large orbital Hall conductivity of Ti and the strong spin-orbit correlation of the FeGaTe, as confirmed through theoretical calculations. Our findings advance the understanding of orbital torque switching and pave the way for exploring 2D material-based orbitronic devices.