Materials, Devices and Spin Transfer Torque in Antiferromagnetic Spintronics: A Concise Review

摘要

From historical obscurity, antiferromagnets are recently enjoying revived interest, as antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials may allow the continued reduction in size of spintronic devices. They have the bene¯t of being insensitive to parasitic external magnetic ¯elds, while displaying high read/write speeds, and thus poised to become an integral part of the next generation of logical devices and memory. They are currently employed to preserve the magnetoresistive qualities of some ferromagnetic based giant or tunnel magnetoresistance systems. However, the question remains how the magnetic states of an antiferromagnet can be e±ciently manipulated and detected. Here, we re°ect on AFM materials for their use in spintronics, in particular, newly recognized antiferromagnet Mn2Au with its in-plane anisotropy and tetragonal structure and high Nu0001eel temperature. These attributes make it one of the most promising candidates for AFM spintronics thus far with the possibility of architectures freed from the need for ferromagnetic (FM) elements. Here, we discuss its potential for use in ferromagnet-free spintronic devices.