Takamasa Hirai

Control of magnetic anisotropy in Pt/Co system using ionic liquid gating

The magnetic anisotropy of the Pt/Co system under ionic liquid gating was studied. A comparison of results obtained using samples under the gating and those subjected to mild oxidization by oxygen plasma ashing suggested that the anodic oxidization of the Co layer could be one of the causes of the large modulation observed in the magnetic anisotropy. However, the charge accumulation effect was probably dominant when the Co layer was on the cathode side. The experiments presented here are expected to aid in elucidating the mechanism by which electric fields affect magnetism.

Peculiar temperature dependence of electric-field effect on magnetic anisotropy in Co/Pd/MgO system

We report on the temperature dependence of the magnetic anisotropy in Co/Pd/MgO system, in which magnetic moment in Pd is induced by the magnetic proximity effect. We demonstrate that the magnetic anisotropy is modulated by applying an electric field to the Pd surface. At temperatures below 100 K, we find the nonlinear electric-field dependence of the anisotropy with the sign reversal. We obtain a huge anisotropy modulation efficiency of ∼1600 fJ/V m at 10 K.

Enhancement of the spin-orbit torque in a Pt/Co system with a naturally oxidized Co layer

We investigated the effect of surface oxidation of a ferromagnetic Co layer on current-induced spin-orbit torque. A Co thin film was deposited on a Pt underlayer, for which the spin current was expected to be generated through the spin Hall effect. Both the damping- and field-like torques quantitatively determined using harmonic Hall voltage measurements were clearly enhanced in the sample with the naturally oxidized Co layer. Even though the oxidized system possessed a larger perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and nearly the same areal magnetization value, i.e., the same effective ferromagnetic thickness, as those of the unoxidized sample, the electrical current required for magnetization switching was greatly reduced. The results clearly show that surface oxidization of a ferromagnetic thin film deposited on a heavy metal layer plays an important role in enlarging spin-orbit torque.

Control of magnetism by electrical charge doping or redox reactions in a surface-oxidized Co thin film with a solid-state capacitor structure

We have investigated the electric field (EF) effect on magnetism in a Co thin film with a naturally oxidized surface. The EF was applied to the oxidized Co surface through a gate insulator layer made of HfO2, which was formed using atomic layer deposition (ALD). The efficiency of the EF effect on the magnetic anisotropy in the sample with the HfO2 layer deposited at the appropriate temperature for the ALD process was relatively large compared to the previously reported values with an unoxidized Co film. The coercivity promptly and reversibly followed the variation in gate voltage. The modulation of the channel resistance was at most ∼0.02%. In contrast, a dramatic change in the magnetic properties including the large change in the saturation magnetic moment and a much larger EF-induced modulation of the channel resistance (∼10%) were observed in the sample with a HfO2 layer deposited at a temperature far below the appropriate temperature range. The response of these properties to the gate voltage was very...

Electric-field-induced magnetic domain writing in a Co wire

We have demonstrated that the local magnetization in a Co microwire can be switched by an application of a gate voltage without using any external magnetic fields. The electric-field-induced reversible ferromagnetic phase transition was used to realize this. An internal stray field from a ferromagnetic gate electrode assisted the local domain reversal in the Co wire. This new concept of electrical domain switching may be useful for dramatically reducing the power consumption of writing information in a magnetic racetrack memory, in which a shift of a magnetic domain by electric current is utilized.

Dielectric and magnetic characterizations of capacitor structures with an ionic liquid/MgO barrier and a ferromagnetic Pt electrode

The dielectric and magnetic properties of electric double layer (EDL) capacitor structures with a perpendicularly magnetized Pt/Co/Pt electrode and an insulating cap layer (MgO) are investigated. An electric field is applied through a mixed ionic liquid/MgO barrier to the surface of the top Pt layer, at which the magnetic moment is induced by the ferromagnetic proximity effect. The basic dielectric properties of the EDL capacitor are studied by varying the thickness of the MgO cap layer. The results indicate that the capacitance, i.e., the accumulated charge density at the Pt surface, is reduced with increasing the MgO thickness. From the MgO thickness dependence of the capacitance value, the effective dielectric constant of the ionic liquid is evaluated. Almost no electric field effect on the magnetic moment, the coercivity, or the Curie temperature is confirmed in the top Pt layer with the thickness of 1.3 nm, regardless of the presence or absence of the MgO cap layer, whereas the a clear change in the ...