We present measurements of current-induced spin-orbit torques generated by NbSe2, a fully-metallic transition-metal dichalcogenide material, made using the spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance (ST-FMR) technique with NbSe2/Permalloy bilayers. In addition to the out-of-plane Oersted torque expected from current flow in the metallic NbSe2 layer, we also observe an in-plane antidamping torque with torque conductivity σS≈103(ℏ/2e)(Ωm)−1 and indications of a weak field-like contribution to the out-of-plane torque oriented opposite to the Oersted torque. Furthermore, in some samples we also measure an in-plane field-like torque with the form m^×z^, where m^ is the Permalloy magnetization direction and z^ is perpendicular to the sample plane. The size of this component varies strongly between samples and is not correlated with the NbSe2 thickness. A torque of this form is not allowed by the bulk symmetries of NbSe2, but is consistent with symmetry breaking by a uniaxial strain that might result during device fabrication.
@article{arxiv.1801.07281,
title = {Spin-orbit torques in NbSe$_2$/Permalloy bilayers},
author = {Marcos H. D. Guimaraes and Gregory M. Stiehl and David MacNeill and Neal D. Reynolds and Daniel C. Ralph},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1801.07281},
year = {2018}
}