Recently it has been predicted that a spin-polarized electrical current perpendicular-to-plane (CPP) directly flowing through a magnetic element can induce magnetization switching through spin-momentum transfer. In this letter, the first observation of current-induced magnetization switching (CIMS) in exchange-biased spin-valves (ESPVs) at room temperature is reported. The ESPVs show the CIMS behavior under a sweeping dc current with a very high critical current density. It is demonstrated that a thin Ruthenium (Ru) layer inserted between a free layer and a top electrode effectively reduces the critical current densities for the CIMS. An "inverse" CIMS behavior is also observed when the thickness of the free layer increases.
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0404634,
title = {An Effective Reduction of Critical Current for Current-Induced Magnetization Switching by a Ru Layer Insertion in an Exchange-Biased Spin-Valve},
author = {Y. Jiang and S. Abe and T. Ochiai and T. Nozaki and A. Hirohata and N. Tezuka and K. Inomata},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0404634},
year = {2007}
}