Unidirectional Magnetoresistance in Antiferromagnet/Heavy-Metal Bilayers
ORAL · Invited
Abstract
Among different electrical probes to read out magnetic order, unidirectional magnetoresistance (UMR), where the resistance changes with the current direction reversal, can provide valuable understanding of the transport properties of spin-orbit coupled systems. However, UMR has not been expected or observed in antiferromagnets before. In this talk, we report that a sizable UMR can arise in an antiferromagnetic system, specifically in the antiferromagnetic phase of a FeRh/Pt bilayer [1]. The observed UMR exhibits a sign change and then increases strongly with an applied magnetic field, in contrast to the UMRs observed in ferromagnetic and non-magnetic systems. We attribute this UMR to the combined effects of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling at the FeRh/Pt interface and the antiferromagnetic spin canting. Our findings motivate the growing fields of antiferromagnetic spintronics and suggest a route to the development of tunable antiferromagnet-based spintronics devices.
[1] S. Shim, M. Mehraeen et al., Physical Review X 12, 021069 (2022).
[1] S. Shim, M. Mehraeen et al., Physical Review X 12, 021069 (2022).
*This research was primarily supported by the NSF through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Materials Research Science and Engineering Center DMR-1720633 and was carried out in part in the Materials Research Laboratory Central Research Facilities, University of Illinois. Thin-film growth at Argonne National Laboratory was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Materials Science and Engineering Division.
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Publication: Physical Review X 12, 021069 (2022).
Presenters
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Soho Shim
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign