Optical spin-orbit torque in heavy metal-ferromagnet heterostructures.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 32198358.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-15247-3 and PMC identifier 7083953.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Spin current generation through the spin-orbit interaction in non-magnetic materials lies at the heart of spintronics. When the generated spin current is injected to a ferromagnet, it produces spin-orbit torque and manipulates magnetization efficiently. Optically generated spin currents are expected to be superior to their electrical counterparts in terms of the manipulation speed. Here we report optical spin-orbit torques in heavy metal/ferromagnet heterostructures. The strong spin-orbit coupling of heavy metals induces photo-excited carriers to be spin-polarized, and their transport from heavy metals to ferromagnets induces a torque on magnetization. Our results demonstrate that heavy metals can generate spin-orbit torque not only electrically but also optically.