Abstract
We report on spin valve devices that incorporate both an out-of-plane polarizer (OPP) to quickly excite spin torque (ST) switching and an in-plane polarizer/analyzer (IPP). For pulses <200 ps, we observe reliable precessional switching due largely to ST from the OPP. Compared to a conventional spin valve, for a given current amplitude from ∼2 to 3 times the zero-thermal-fluctuation critical current (Ic0), the addition of the OPP can decrease the pulse width necessary for switching by a factor of 10 or more. The effect of the IPP also has beneficial ST consequences for the short pulse switching behavior.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 012506 |
| Journal | Applied Physics Letters |
| Volume | 95 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2009 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF)/Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center program through the Cornell Center for Nanoscale Systems, by the Office of Naval Research, and by the Semiconductor Research Corporation, and was performed in part at the Cornell NanoScale Facility, a node of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NSF Grant No. ECS 03–35765) and in the facilities of the Cornell Center for Materials Research, which is supported by the NSF/Materials Research Science and Engineering Center program.