The magnetic proximity effect (MPE) is a well-established magnetic phenomenon that occurs at certain heavy-metal (HM)/ferromagnet (FM) interfaces. However, there is still an active debate as to whether the presence of a MPE affects spin transport through such a HM/FM interface. Here we demonstrate that the MPE at Pt/Co and Au0.25Pt0.75/Co interfaces can be enhanced substantially by thermal annealing protocols.

Since the discovery of the large spin Hall effect in certain heavy metals, there has been continuous interest in utilizing this spin-orbit torque (SOT) effect in constructing a non-volatile memory that can be switched by an electric current. The key to future application of this type of memory is achieving both a short write time and a low write current, which will lower the energy cost compared to existing and other emerging memory technologies.

We report very efficient spin-current generation by the spin Hall effect in the alloy Au0.25Pt0.75, which, as determined by two different direct spin-orbit torque measurements, exhibits a giant internal spin Hall ratio of ≥0.58 (antidamping spin-orbit torque efficiency of approximately 0.35 in bilayers with Co), a relatively low resistivity of approximately 83 μΩ cm, an exceptionally large spin Hall conductivity of ≥7.0×105Ω-1m-1, and a spin diffusion length of 1.7 nm.

Fe1- xRhx layers are grown with varying rhodium fraction x on (001)-oriented MgO substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy. Film structural, morphological, magnetic, and transport properties are investigated. At room temperature, layers are ferromagnetic (FM) for x < 0.48 and antiferromagnetic (AF) for x > 0.48. Separating the two magnetically ordered phases at x = 0.48 is an abrupt change in the Fe1- xRhx lattice parameter of Δa = 0.0028 nm (Δa/a =-0.9%). For AF layers, the FM state is recovered by heating across a first-order phase transition.

We show experimentally that the spin direction of the spin current generated by spin-orbit interactions within a ferromagnetic layer can be reoriented by turning the magnetization direction of this layer. We do this by measuring the fieldlike component of spin-orbit torque generated by an exchange-biased Fe95Gd5 thin film and acting on a nearby Co40Fe40B20 layer. The relative angle of the Co40Fe40B20 and Fe95Gd5 magnetic moments is varied by applying an external magnetic field.

We fabricate devices in which a magnetic nanopillar spin valve makes contact to a Co/Pt bilayer thin film with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, to achieve local control of domains in the Co/Pt bilayer underneath the nanopillar. The goal is to develop the ability to nucleate, detect, and annihilate magnetic skyrmions in the Co/Pt using spin-polarized currents from the nanopillar. We demonstrate the ability to distinguish the local behavior of the Co/Pt film beneath the nanopillar from the extended film and show that the two can switch independently of each other.

Robust spin Hall effects (SHE) have recently been observed in nonmagnetic heavy metal systems with strong spin-orbit interactions. These SHE are either attributed to an intrinsic band-structure effect or to extrinsic spin-dependent scattering from impurities, namely, side jump or skew scattering. Here we report on an extraordinarily strong spin Hall effect, attributable to spin fluctuations, in ferromagnetic FexPt1-x alloys near their Curie point, tunable with x.

We present measurements of current-induced spin-orbit torques generated by NbSe2, a fully metallic transition-metal dichalcogenide material, made using the spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance (ST-FMR) technique with NbSe2/Permalloy bilayers. In addition to the out-of-plane Oersted torque expected from current flow in the metallic NbSe2 layer, we also observe an in-plane antidamping torque with torque conductivity σS ? 103 (?/2e)(?m)?1 and indications of a weak field-like contribution to the out-of-plane torque oriented opposite to the Oersted torque.

Recent research has indicated that introducing impurities that increase the resistivity of Pt can enhance the efficiency of the spin Hall torque it generates. Here, we directly demonstrate the usefulness of this strategy by fabricating prototype 3-terminal in-plane-magnetized magnetic tunnel junctions that utilize the spin Hall torque from a Pt85Hf15 alloy and measuring the critical currents for switching.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are crystalline polymers with covalent bonds in two or three dimensions, providing pores 1–5 nm in diameter. COFs are typically isolated as microcrystalline powders, which are unsuitable for many applications that would leverage their tunable structures, such as optoelectronic devices and nanofiltration membranes. Here, we report the interfacial polymerization of polyfunctional amine and aldehyde monomers with a Lewis acid catalyst, Sc(OTf)3. Immiscible solutions segregate the catalyst from the monomers, confining polymerization to the solution interface.