Fieldlike spin-orbit torque in ultrathin polycrystalline FeMn films

Abstract

Fieldlike spin-orbit torque in FeMn/Pt bilayers with ultrathin polycrystalline FeMn has been characterized through planar Hall effect measurements. A large effective field of $2.05\times {10}^{-5}$ to $2.44\times {10}^{-5}\mathrm{Oe}\left({\mathrm{A}}^{-1}{\mathrm{cm}}^2\right)$ is obtained for FeMn in the thickness range of 2–5 nm. The experimental observations can be reasonably accounted for by using a macrospin model under the assumption that the FeMn layer is composed of two spin sublattices with unequal magnetizations. The large effective field corroborates the spin Hall origin of the effective field, considering the much smaller uncompensated net moments in FeMn as compared to NiFe. The effective absorption of spin current by FeMn is further confirmed by the fact that spin current generated by Pt in NiFe/FeMn/Pt trilayers can only travel through the FeMn layer with a thickness of 1–4 nm. By quantifying the fieldlike effective field induced in NiFe, a spin diffusion length of 2 nm is estimated in FeMn, consistent with values reported in the literature by ferromagnetic resonance and spin-pumping experiments.