Spin Seebeck Imaging of Spin-Torque Switching in Antiferromagnetic Pt/NiO Heterostructures

Published

October 22, 2019

Author(s)

Isaiah Gray, Takahiro Moriyama, Nikhil Sivadas, Gregory M. Stiehl, John T. Heron, Ryan F. Need, Brian Kirby, David H. Low, Katja Nowack, Darrell G. Schlom, Daniel C. Ralph, Teruo Ono, Gregory D. Fuchs

Abstract

We demonstrate the spin Seebeck microscope as a sensitive method for imaging in-plane antiferromagnetic order in thin films. Recently, antidamping spin-orbit torques have been used to reorient Neel order in antiferromagnetic devices. Although the readout of the Neel orientation via spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) enables all-electrical manipulation and detection, understanding the microscopic details of the switching mechanism has been hindered due to a lack of tabletop methods to image the Neel order. Using spin Seebeck microscopy, we study spin-orbit torque switching in Pt/NiO(111)/Pt devices. We resolve antiferromagnetic spin domains within crystalline twin domains. In addition, we find a linear correlation between the spin-torque-induced changes in the SMR and the integrated spin Seebeck signal, confirming that we image antiferromagnetic order. These measurements reveal antiferromagnetic domain wall motion and domain flopping, providing new understanding of antiferromagnetic switching using spin-orbit torques.

Citation

Physical Review X

Volume

9

Issue

4

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

Neutron scattering, magnetism

Citation

Gray, I. , Moriyama, T. , Sivadas, N. , Stiehl, G. , Heron, J. , Need, R. , Kirby, B. , Low, D. , Nowack, K. , Schlom, D. , Ralph, D. , Ono, T. and Fuchs, G. (2019), Spin Seebeck Imaging of Spin-Torque Switching in Antiferromagnetic Pt/NiO Heterostructures, Physical Review X, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=926591 (Accessed October 22, 2025)