Chiral-spin rotation of non-collinear antiferromagnet by spin-orbit torque

竹内 祐太郎*; 山根 結太*; Yoon, J.-Y.*; 伊藤 隆一*; 陣内 佛霖*; 金井 駿*; 家田 淳一; 深見 俊輔*; 大野 英男*

Nature Materials, 20(10), p.1364 - 1370, 2021/10

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-021-01005-3

Electrical manipulation of magnetic materials by current-induced spin torque constitutes the basis of spintronics. Recent studies have demonstrated electrical controls of ferromagnets and collinear antiferromagnets by spin-orbit torque (SOT). Here we show an unconventional response to SOT of a non-collinear antiferromagnet, which has recently attracted great attention owing to large anomalous Hall effect despite vanishingly small net magnetization. In heterostructures with epitaxial non-collinear antiferromagnet MnSn, we observe a characteristic fluctuation of Hall resistance, which is attributed to a persistent rotation of chiral-spin structure of MnSn driven by SOT. We find that level of the fluctuation that varies with sample size represents the number of magnetic domains of MnSn. In addition, MnSn thickness dependence of critical current reveals that SOT generated by small current density below 20 MA cm effectively acts on the chiral-spin structure even in thick MnSn above 20 nm. The results provide unprecedented pathways of electrical manipulation of magnetic materials, offering new-concept spintronics devices with unconventional functionalities and low-power consumption.