The emergence of the orbital degree of freedom in modern orbitronics offers a promising alternative to heavy metals for the efficient control of magnetization. In this context, identifying interfaces that exhibit orbital-momentum locking and an orbital Rashba-Edelstein response to an external electric field is of primary importance. In this work, we experimentally investigate the Co/Al system and extend the study to Co/Pt/Al structures. We show that inserting ultrathin Pt layers between Co and Al can significantly modify the orbital properties, highlighting the critical role of Co/Al orbital bonding in generating orbital polarization. We further model the orbital response of these systems using semi-phenomenological approaches and linear-response theory within the framework of density-functional theory.
@article{arxiv.2512.18419,
title = {Orbital torque and efficient magnetization switching using ultrathin Co|Al light-metal interfaces: Experiments and modeling},
author = {N. Sebe and A. Pezo and S. Krishnia and S. Collin and J. -M. George and A. Fert and V. Cros and H. Jaffrès},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.18419},
year = {2025}
}