. . . . . . . . . .    ANM 2010     3rd International Conference on Advanced Nano Materials     12-15 September 2010 - Agadir, Morocco Back    Abstract ANMM318         SPIN-ORBIT TORQUES: FROM SINGLE ATOMS TO DEVICES Pietro Gambardella (1,2) (1) Institut Catalá de Nanotecnologia, Centre d’Investigació en Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN-CSIC), UAB Campus, E-08193 Barcelona, Spain. (2) Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), E-08100 Barcelona, Spain. . The spin-orbit interaction constitutes a weak but essential perturbation to the Hamiltonian of magnetic systems. Linking spins with atomic structure, spin-orbit coupling assumes a prominent role in structures of reduced dimensionality, where it defines the internal magnetic anisotropy fields. In this talk, we discuss interface-enhanced spin-orbit effects from individual magnetic atoms to metallic multilayers. We demonstrate that a novel type of spin torque can be induced in ferromagnetic metal films lacking structure inversion symmetry through the Rashba effect. Owing to the combination of spin–orbit and exchange interactions, we show that an electric current flowing in the plane of a Co layer with asymmetric Pt and AlOx interfaces produces an effective transverse magnetic field of 1 T per 108 A cm−2 of applied current. This torque does not require a current flowing through noncollinear magnetic structures, opening new perspectives for room temperature applications in spintronics. . © nanoAC . . . . . . . . . .

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