Spin-orbitronics, based on both spin and orbital angular momentum, presents a promising pathway for energy-efficient memory and logic devices. Recent studies have demonstrated the emergence of orbital currents in light transition metals such as Ti, Cr, and Zr, broadening the scope of spin-orbit torque (SOT). In particular, the orbital Hall effect, which arises independently of spin-obit coupling, has shown potential for enhancing torque efficiency in spintronic devices. However, the direct integration of orbital current into magnetic random-access memory (MRAM) remains unexplored. In this work, we design a light metal/heavy metal/ferromagnet multilayer structure and experimentally demonstrate magnetization switching by orbital current. Furthermore, we have realized a robust SOT-MRAM cell by incorporating a reference layer that is pinned by a synthetic antiferromagnetic structure. We observed a tunnel magnetoresistance of 66%, evident in both magnetic field and current-driven switching processes. Our findings underscore the potential for employing orbital current in designing next-generation spintronic devices.
@article{arxiv.2504.05780,
title = {Orbital Current-Driven Magnetization Switching in a Magnetic Tunnel Junction},
author = {Jingkai Xu and Dongxing Zheng and Meng Tang and Chen Liu and Bin He and Man Yang and Hao Li and Yan Li and Aitian Chen and Senfu Zhang and Ziqiang Qiu and Xixiang Zhang},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.05780},
year = {2025}
}