Berlin 2008 – scientific programme
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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus
MA 19: Spin Dynamics / Spin Torque I
MA 19.1: Talk
Wednesday, February 27, 2008, 14:00–14:15, EB 301
Current-induced magnetization switching of thermally stable nanoislands — •Stefan Krause1, Gabriela Herzog1, Roland Wiesendanger1, and Matthias Bode2 — 1Institute of Applied Physics, University of Hamburg, Germany — 2Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, USA
Recently is has been shown that spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM) serves as a tool to manipulate the switching behavior of uniaxial superparamagnetic nanoislands [1]. Besides its scientific relevance to investigate the details of current-induced magnetization switching (CIMS), this technique opens perspectives for future data storage technologies based on SP-STM. However, for such an application it is essential to switch nanoislands which show a stable magnetization over up to ten years. Hence, the current-induced spin-torque must be the only driving force for reversal, whereas the magnetization of every single data bit has to be stable against thermal agitation.
Iron monolayer nanoislands consisting of 50 to 150 atoms on a W(110) surface exhibit a monodomain magnetization state. In our latest experiments on CIMS at low temperature (T=31 K), individual quasistable nanoislands have been addressed and switched using a magnetic SP-STM tip. Using manually initiated pulses of high spin-polarized current we show how SP-STM can be used as a tool to switch the magnetization of quasistable magnetic nanoislands, thereby demonstrating the general capability of SP-STM to manipulate magnetism at ultimate resolution.
[1] S. Krause et al., Science 317, 1537 (2007).