Spin-orbitronics, a new direction for spintronics: magnetic skyrmions, spin-orbit effects in 2D electron gas at surfaces and interfaces
DIPC Seminars
- Speaker
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Albert Fert, Scientific Director Unité Mixte de Physique CNRS/Thales - Nobel Prize in Physics 2007
- When
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2014/12/16
11:00 - Place
- Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC). Manuel Lardizabal 4, Donostia
- Add to calendar
- iCal
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Albert Fert** [1], V. Cros [1], C. Deranlot [1], J. Grollier [1], C. Moreau-
Luchaire [1], N. Reyren [1], J. Sampaio [1], N. van Horne [1], S. Rohart [2],
A. Thiaville [2], M. Chshiev [3], J-P. Attané [3], J-C. Rojas-Sanchez [1,3],
L. Vila [3], H. Yang [3], A.V. Khvalkovskiy [4], J-M. de Teresa [5].
[1] UMP CNRS-Thales, 1 Av. Fresnel, Palaiseau, 91767, France and Université
Paris-Sud
[2] LPS, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France
[3] CEA, 38054, Grenoble, France
[4] Grandis, Inc., 1123 Cadillac Court, Milpitas, California 95035, U.S.A
[5] ICM, Univ-Zaragoza-CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain
[albert.fert@thalesgroup.com](mailto:albert.fert@thalesgroup.com)
Classical spintronic devices use the exchange interaction between conduction
electron spins and local spins in magnetic materials to create spin-polarized
currents or to manipulate nanomagnets by spin transfer from spin-polarized
currents. A novel direction of spintronics – that can be called spin-
orbitronics - exploits the Spin-Orbit Coupling (SOC) in nonmagnetic materials
instead of the exchange interaction in magnetic materials to generate, detect
or exploit spin-polarized currents. This opens the way to spin devices made of
only nonmagnetic materials and operated without magnetic fields. Spin-orbit
coupling can also be used to create new types of topological magnetic objects
as the magnetic skyrmions or the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya domain walls.
After a short introduction on spintronics, I will review recent advances in
two directions of spin-orbitronics.
a) Nucleation, current-induced motion and pinning of individual skyrmions or
trains of skyrmions in films or multilayers: I will focus on skyrmions induced
by Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya Interactions (DMI) at interfaces of ferromagnetic
layers with materials of large spin-orbit coupling and I will discuss their
potential for applications. It will include calculations of DMI, micromagnetic
simulations and preliminary experimental results on multilayers.
b) Conversion between charge and spin current by SOC (Spin Hall Effect and
Edelstein Effect): I will describe recent experiments (for example on the
Inverse Edelstein Effect at Rashba Bi/Ag or LAO/STO interfaces) and
applications to SOC torques to the motion of magnetic domain walls and the
switching of nanomagnets.