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arXiv · 1805.02453

Optical control of magnetism in NiFe/VO2 heterostructures

Guodong Wei·Xiaoyang Lin·Zhizhong Si·Dong Wang·Xinhe Wang·Kai Liu·Kaili Jiang·Zhaohao Wang·Na Lei·Yanxue Chen·Stephane Mangin·Weisheng Zhao
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Abstract

Optical methods for magnetism manipulation have been considered as a promising strategy for ultralow-power and ultrahigh-speed spin switches, which becomes a hot spot in the field of spintronics. However, a widely applicable and efficient method to combine optical operation with magnetic modulation is still highly desired. Here, the strongly correlated electron material VO2 is introduced to realize phase-transition based optical control of the magnetism in NiFe. The NiFe/VO2 bilayer heterostructure features appreciable modulations in electrical conductivity (55%), coercivity (60%), and magnetic anisotropy (33.5%). Further analyses indicate that interfacial strain coupling plays a crucial role in this modulation. Utilizing this optically controlled magnetism modulation feature, programmable Boolean logic gates (AND, OR, NAND, NOR, XOR, NXOR and NOT) for high-speed and low-power data processing are demonstrated based on this engineered heterostructure. As a demonstration of phase-transition spintronics, this work may pave the way for next-generation electronics in the post-Moore era.

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Guodong Wei, Xiaoyang Lin, Zhizhong Si, Dong Wang, Xinhe Wang, Kai Liu, Kaili Jiang, Zhaohao Wang, Na Lei, Yanxue Chen, Stephane Mangin, Weisheng Zhao. 2018-10-15. Optical control of magnetism in NiFe/VO2 heterostructures. https://doi.org/10.1002/qute.201900104

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