Abstract
The wider application of spintronic devices requires the development of new material platforms that can efficiently be used to manipulate spin. Bismuthate-based superconductors are centrosymmetric systems that are generally thought to offer weak spin–orbit coupling. Here we report a large spin–orbit torque driven by spin polarization generated in heterostructures based on the bismuthate BaPb1−xBixO3 (which is in a non-superconducting state). Using spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance and d.c. nonlinear Hall measurements, we measure a spin–orbit torque efficiency of around 2.7 and demonstrate current-driven magnetization switching at current densities of 4 × 105 A cm−2. We suggest that the unexpectedly large current-induced torques could be the result of an orbital Rashba effect associated with local inversion symmetry breaking in BaPb1−xBixO3.
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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
C.B.E. acknowledges support for this research through a Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship (ONR N00014-20-1-2844) and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s EPiQS Initiative (grant no. GBMF9065). The work done by G.G. and E.Y.T. is also supported by the Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship (ONR N00014-20-1-2844). Transport measurements at the University of Wisconsin–Madison were supported by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science, US Department of Energy, under award number DE-FG02-06ER46327. The work at University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is supported by the US Department of Energy Quantum Materials programme (I.H., S.S. and R.R.) and the Beyond Moore’s Law programme (R.R.). Previous support from the SRC JUMP-ASCENT programme is also acknowledged. Measurements at Cornell were supported by the US National Science Foundation (DMR-2104268). We thank J. A. Mittelstaedt for discussions.
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A.L.E., T.N., C.B.E., I.A.H. and R.R. conceived the research. A.L.E. and Y.C. grew films and fabricated devices from BPBO/Pt(Co) samples. I.A.H. grew films and fabricated devices from LSMO/BPBO samples. I.A.H., M.M.M., X.H. and D.C.R. performed the ST-FMR measurements and analysis. N.G.C. and M.S.R. conducted the nonlinear Hall I–V measurements. Y.C. and T.N. carried out the device-switching experiments. G.G. and E.Y.T. performed the theoretical calculations. S.S. performed the STEM measurements. A.L.E., N.G.C. and C.B.E. wrote the paper with contributions from all other co-authors.
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Edgeton, A.L., Harris, I.A., Campbell, N.G. et al. Large spin–orbit torque in bismuthate-based heterostructures. Nat Electron 6, 973–980 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-023-01080-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-023-01080-1
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