Mechanism of Nel order switching in antiferromagnetic thin films revealed by magnetotransport and direct imaging

Baldrati, L.*; Gomonay, O.*; Ross, A.*; Filianina, M.*; Lebrun, R.*; Ramos, R.*; Leveille, C.*; Fuhrmann, F.*; Forrest, T. R.*; Maccherozzi, F.*; Valencia, S.*; Kronast, F.*; Saito, Eiji; Sinova, J.*; Klui, M.*

We probe the current-induced magnetic switching of insulating antiferromagnet-heavy-metal systems, by electrical spin Hall magnetoresistance measurements and direct imaging, identifying a reversal occurring by domain wall (DW) motion. We observe switching of more than one-third of the antiferromagnetic domains by the application of current pulses. Our data reveal two different magnetic switching mechanisms leading together to an efficient switching, namely, the spin-current induced effective magnetic anisotropy variation and the action of the spin torque on the DWs.