Interfacial current-induced torques in Pt/Co/GdOx

摘要

Current-driven domain wall (DW) motion is investigated in Pt/Co/GdOx nanostrips with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Measurements of the propagation field and the energy barrier for thermally activated DW motion reveal a large current-induced torque equivalent to an out-of-plane magnetic field of ～60 Oe per 10~(11) A/m~2. This same field-to-current scaling is shown to hold in both the slow thermally activated and fast near-flow regimes of DW motion. The current-induced torque decreases with 4 A of Pt decorating the Co/GdOx interface and vanishes entirely with Pt replacing GdOx, suggesting that the Co/GdOx interface contributes directly to highly efficient current-driven DW motion.