Cheng Yang, Zhang Zichen, Li Peng, Xu Teng, Dong Yiqing, Wang Sigang, Bai Hao, Yang Hongxin, Liu Yi, Jiang Wanjun
State Key Laboratory of Low-Dimensional Quantum Physics and Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Frontier Science Center for Quantum Information, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
ACS Nano. 2025 Sep 16;19(36):32246-32253. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.5c06890. Epub 2025 Sep 2.
Functional magnetic multilayers are particularly interesting for enabling many emerging spintronic physics, including spin-orbit torque (SOT), magnetic proximity effect (MPE), and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), among many others. A comprehension of these spintronic phenomena is vital for the development of advanced spintronic materials and devices. Here, we investigate the interplay between the MPE and the current-induced SOT switching in the perpendicularly magnetized Pt/[Co/Pd] multilayers (with being the number of repetitions). In particular, we find evidence of the MPE-induced magnetism in the [Co/Pd] multilayers by revealing the boosted saturation magnetization () from 1400 to 2450 emu/cc. By conducting a current-induced SOT switching experiment in these multilayers, we observe a substantial suppression of the SOT switching ratio. The underlying physics is attributed to the rapid spin relaxation of spin current in the MPE-magnetized Pd layer, which prohibits an efficient diffusion of spin currents along the thickness direction of the [Co/Pd] multilayers, as suggested by first-principles calculations. Our work could help to clarify the controversial interplay between the MPE and the SOT switching, which could be useful for designing functional magnetic multilayers for enabling efficient spin-orbitronics.
功能磁性多层膜对于实现许多新兴的自旋电子学物理现象特别有趣，包括自旋轨道转矩（SOT）、磁近邻效应（MPE）和垂直磁各向异性（PMA）等等。理解这些自旋电子学现象对于先进自旋电子材料和器件的发展至关重要。在此，我们研究了垂直磁化的Pt/[Co/Pd]多层膜（其中 为重复次数）中磁近邻效应与电流诱导的SOT开关之间的相互作用。特别地，我们通过揭示饱和磁化强度（）从1400emu/cc提升至2450emu/cc，发现了[Co/Pd]多层膜中磁近邻效应诱导磁性的证据。通过在这些多层膜中进行电流诱导的SOT开关实验，我们观察到SOT开关比大幅降低。其潜在物理机制归因于磁近邻效应磁化的Pd层中自旋电流的快速自旋弛豫，如第一性原理计算所示，这阻碍了自旋电流沿[Co/Pd]多层膜厚度方向的有效扩散。我们的工作有助于阐明磁近邻效应与SOT开关之间存在争议的相互作用，这对于设计用于实现高效自旋电子学的功能磁性多层膜可能是有用的。
