Spin-Orbit Torque Switching of a Single Magnetic Layer
2011Miron et al., "Perpendicular switching of a single ferromagnetic layer induced by in-plane current injection" (Nature 476, 189-193, August 2011; DOI 10.1038/nature10309). Showed that an in-plane current through a heavy-metal/ferromagnet stack can switch the perpendicular magnetization of a single ferromagnetic layer, a write mechanism that does not send the write current through the tunnel barrier. The basis of SOT-MRAM, which the 2024-2026 literature treats as near-commercial but still limited by CMOS integration at small nodes.
Originators
- Ioan Mihai Miron
- Kevin Garello
- Gilles Gaudin
- Pierre-Jean Zermatten
- Marius V. Costache
- Stephane Auffret
- Sebastien Bandiera
- Bernard Rodmacq
- Alain Schuhl
- Pietro Gambardella
Landmark Paper
Checked 2026-11-02 — interim signal only, see docs/BASIC_ROADMAP.md Phase 10
Connections
- will likely enable Magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM)basis: reasoned
SOT-MRAM separates the write path from the tunnel barrier and is the stated next-generation write mechanism, but the 2024-2026 literature still lists CMOS integration at small nodes as unresolved, so this is projected, not realised. Tier 1 SS9: the only edge from this node into the applied tree.
- is adjacent to Spin-Torque Switching with the Giant Spin Hall Effect of Tantalumbasis: reasoned
Two routes to current-driven switching of a single ferromagnetic layer by spin-orbit torque: the interfacial route of Miron et al. 2011 and the heavy-metal spin Hall route of Liu et al. 2012. Adjacent mechanisms for the same outcome, neither a dependency of the other. Reasoned.
Cross-Domain Connections
No verified cross-domain connections indexed for Spin-Orbit Torque Switching of a Single Magnetic Layer yet. Verified links are admitted under FSTP epistemic audit standards.