[8p-E208-1~18] 10.2 Fundamental and exploratory device technologies for spin

5:45 PM - 6:00 PM JST(8:45 AM - 9:00 AM UTC)Presentation by Applicant for JSAP Young Scientists Presentation AwardEnglish Presentation

[8p-E208-16] Local Modulation of Interlayer Exchange Coupling in Synthetic Antiferromagnets by Ion Irradiation

〇(M2)Hayato Suzuki^1,2, Takumi Yamazaki², Shoya Sakamoto^2,3, Daiki Oshima⁴, Takeshi Kato^4,5, Takeshi Seki^2,3,6 (1.Grad. Sch. of Eng., Tohoku Univ., 2.IMR, Tohoku Univ., 3.CSIS, Tohoku Univ., 4.Grad. Sch. of Eng., Nagoya Univ., 5.IMaSS, Nagoya Univ., 6.SRIS, Tohoku Univ.)

Keywords:

Interlayer exchange coupling,Synthetic antiferromagnets,Ion irradiation

Inducing an in-plane effective magnetic field by breaking spatial inversion symmetry is vital for field-free spin-orbit torque switching in synthetic antiferromagnets (SyAFs). However, a definitive method for controlling such symmetry breaking has not yet been established. Here, we demonstrate local modulation of interlayer exchange coupling (IEC) in SyAFs by employing ion irradiation as a means of creating spatial inversion symmetry breaking. In perpendicularly magnetized Pt/Co/Ir-based SyAFs, the effects of ion irradiation on IEC and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) were investigated to modulate IEC while maintaining PMA. To visualize spatial IEC modulation, local ion irradiation was performed using an optimized stack and ion dose that induce an antiferromagnetic (AFM)-to-ferromagnetic (FM) transition of the coupling between the Co layers. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism imaging revealed a lateral junction consisting of AFM- and FM-coupled regions under zero magnetic field.