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Charge-spin interconversion processes underpin the generation of spin-orbit torques in magnetic/nonmagnetic bilayers. However, efficient sources of spin currents such as 5d metals are also efficient spin sinks, resulting in a large increase of magnetic damping. Here we show that a partially-oxidized 3d metal can generate a strong orbital torque without a significant increase in damping. Measurements of the torque efficiency {\xi} and Gilbert damping {\alpha} in CoFe/CuOx and CoFe/Pt indicate that {\xi} is comparable. The increase in damping relative to a single CoFe layer is {\Delta}{\alpha}<0.002 in CoFe/CuOx and {\Delta}{\alpha} ~ 0.005 - 0.02 in CoFe/Pt, depending on CoFe thickness. We ascribe the nonreciprocal relationship between {\Delta}{\alpha} and {\xi} in CoFe/CuOx to the small orbital-to-spin current ratio generated by magnetic resonance in CoFe and the lack of an efficient spin sink in CuOx. Our findings provide new perspectives on the efficient excitation of magnetization dynamics via the orbital torque.

Orbital currents have recently emerged as a promising tool to achieve electrical control of the magnetization in thin-film ferromagnets. Efficient orbital-to-spin conversion is required in order to torque the magnetization. Here we show that the injection of an orbital current in a ferrimagnetic GdyCo100-y alloy generates strong orbital torques whose sign and magnitude can be tuned by changing the Gd content and temperature. The effective spin-orbital Hall angle reaches up to -0.25 in a GdyCo100-y/CuOx bilayer compared to +0.03 in Co/CuOx and +0.13 in GdyCo100-y/Pt. This behavior is attributed to the local orbital-to-spin conversion taking place at the Gd sites, which is about five times stronger and of the opposite sign relative to Co. Furthermore, we observe a manyfold increase in the net orbital torque at low temperature, which we attribute to the improved conversion efficiency following the magnetic ordering of the Gd and Co sublattices.

We report the observation of a unidirectional magnetoresistance (UMR) that originates from the nonequilibrium orbital momentum induced by an electric current in a naturally oxidized Cu/Co bilayer. The orbital-UMR scales with the torque efficiency due to the orbital Rashba-Edelstein effect upon changing the Co thickness and temperature, reflecting their common origin. We attribute the UMR to orbital-dependent electron scattering and orbital-to-spin conversion in the ferromagnetic layer. In contrast to the spin-current induced UMR, the magnon contribution to the orbital-UMR is absent in thin Co layers, which we ascribe to the lack of coupling between low energy magnons and orbital current. The magnon contribution to the UMR emerges in Co layers thicker than about 5 nm, which is comparable to the orbital-to-spin conversion length. Our results provide insight into orbital-to-spin momentum transfer processes relevant for the optimization of spintronic devices based on light metals and orbital transport., Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures

We study magneto-transport in heterostructures composed of the van der Waals antiferromagnet CrPS$_{4}$ and the heavy metals Pt and Pd. The transverse resistance (R$_{xy}$) signal reveals the spin-flop transition of CrPS$_{4}$ and a strongly enhanced magnetic ordering temperature (>300 K), which might originate from a strong spin-orbit coupling at the interface. While CrPS$_{4}$/Pt devices allow for easy detection of the spin-flop transition, CrPS$_{4}$/Pd devices show a more substantial enhancement in magnetic ordering temperature and exhibit a topological Hall effect signal, possibly related to chiral spin structures at the interface. The longitudinal magnetoresistance (R$_{xx}$) results from a combination of spin-Hall magnetoresistance and the negative magnetoresistance that can be explained by a field-induced change of the electronic band structure of CrPS$_{4}$., Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures

We report the observation of magnetoresistance (MR) originating from the orbital angular momentum transport (OAM) in a Permalloy (Py) / oxidized Cu (Cu*) heterostructure: the orbital Rashba-Edelstein magnetoresistance. The angular dependence of the MR depends on the relative angle between the induced OAM and the magnetization in a similar fashion as the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR). Despite the absence of elements with large spin-orbit coupling, we find a sizable MR ratio, which is in contrast to the conventional SMR which requires heavy elements. By varying the thickness of the Cu* layer, we confirm that the interface is responsible for the MR, suggesting that the orbital Rashba-Edelstein effect is responsible for the generation of the OAM. Through Py thickness-dependence studies, we find that the effective values for the spin diffusion and spin dephasing lengths of Py are significantly larger than the values measured in Py / Pt bilayers, approximately by the factor of 2 and 4, respectively. This implies that another mechanism beyond the conventional spin-based scenario is responsible for the MR observed in Py / Cu* structures originated in a sizeable transport of OAM. Our findings not only unambiguously demonstrate the current-induced torque without using any heavy element via the OAM channel but also provide an important clue towards the microscopic understanding of the role that OAM transport can play for magnetization dynamics., Comment: 11 pages,3 figures

Ferrimagnetic Y$_3$Fe$_5$O$_{12}$ (YIG) is the prototypical material for studying magnonic properties due to its exceptionally low damping. By substituting the yttrium with other rare earth elements that have a net magnetic moment, we can introduce an additional spin degree of freedom. Here, we study the magnetic coupling in epitaxial Y$_3$Fe$_5$O$_{12}$/Gd$_3$Fe$_5$O$_{12}$ (YIG/GIG) heterostructures grown by pulsed laser deposition. From bulk sensitive magnetometry and surface sensitive spin Seebeck effect (SSE) and spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) measurements, we determine the alignment of the heterostructure magnetization through temperature and external magnetic field. The ferromagnetic coupling between the Fe sublattices of YIG and GIG dominates the overall behavior of the heterostructures. Due to the temperature dependent gadolinium moment, a magnetic compensation point of the total bilayer system can be identified. This compensation point shifts to lower temperatures with increasing thickness of YIG due the parallel alignment of the iron moments. We show that we can control the magnetic properties of the heterostructures by tuning the thickness of the individual layers, opening up a large playground for magnonic devices based on coupled magnetic insulators. These devices could potentially control the magnon transport analogously to electron transport in giant magnetoresistive devices., Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures

Electrical manipulation of magnetism via spin-orbit torques (SOTs) promises efficient spintronic devices. In systems comprising magnetic insulators and heavy metals, SOTs have started to be investigated only recently, especially in systems with interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (iDMI). Here, we quantitatively study the SOT efficiency and iDMI in a series of gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG) / thulium iron garnet (TmIG) / platinum (Pt) heterostructures with varying TmIG and Pt thicknesses. We find that the non-monotonic SOT efficiency as a function of the magnetic layer thickness is not consistent with the 1/thickness dependence expected from a simple interfacial SOT mechanism. Moreover, considering the insulating nature of TmIG, our results cannot be explained by the SOT mechanism established for metallic magnets where the transverse charge spin current can inject and dephase in the magnetic layers. Rather we can explain this non-monotonic behavior by a model based on the interfacial spin mixing conductance that is affected by the thickness-dependent exchange splitting energy by determining the phase difference of the reflected spin-up and spin-down electrons at the TmIG / Pt interface. By studying the Pt thickness dependence, we find that the effective DMI for GGG / TmIG / Pt does not depend on the Pt thickness, which indicates that the GGG / TmIG interface is the source of the iDMI in this system. Our work demonstrates that SOT and DMI can originate from two different interfaces, which enables independent optimization of DMI and SOT for advanced chiral spintronics with low damping magnetic insulators., Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures

We report room temperature long-distance spin transport of magnons in antiferromagnetic thin film hematite doped with Zn. The additional dopants significantly alter the magnetic anisotropies, resulting in a complex equilibrium spin structure that is capable of efficiently transporting spin angular momentum at room temperature without the need for a well-defined, pure easy-axis or easy-plane anisotropy. We find intrinsic magnon spin-diffusion lengths of up to 1.5 {\mu}m, and magnetic domain governed decay lengths of 175 nm for the low frequency magnons, through electrical transport measurements demonstrating that the introduction of non-magnetic dopants does not strongly reduce the transport length scale showing that the magnetic damping of hematite is not significantly increased. We observe a complex field dependence of the non-local signal independent of the magnetic state visible in the local magnetoresistance and direct magnetic imaging of the antiferromagnetic domain structure. We explain our results in terms of a varying and applied-field-dependent ellipticity of the magnon modes reaching the detector electrode allowing us to tune the spin transport.

TmFeO$_3$ (TFO) is a canted antiferromagnet that undergoes a spin reorientation transition (SRT) with temperature between 82 K and 94 K in single crystals. In this temperature region, the N\'eel vector continuously rotates from the crystallographic $c$-axis (below 82 K) to the $a$-axis (above 94 K). The SRT allows for a temperature control of distinct antiferromagnetic states without the need for a magnetic field, making it apt for applications working at THz frequencies. For device applications, thin films of TFO are required as well as an electrical technique for reading out the magnetic state. Here we demonstrate that orthorhombic TFO thin films can be grown by pulsed laser deposition and the detection of the SRT in TFO thin films can be accessed by making use of the all electrical spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR), in good agreement for the temperature range where the SRT occurs. Our results demonstrate that one can electrically detect the SRT in insulators.

Understanding the electrical manipulation of antiferromagnetic order is a crucial aspect to enable the design of antiferromagnetic devices working at THz frequency. Focusing on collinear insulating antiferromagnetic NiO/Pt thin films as a materials platform, we identify the crystallographic orientation of the domains that can be switched by currents and quantify the N\'eel vector direction changes. We demonstrate electrical switching between different T-domains by current pulses, finding that the N\'eel vector orientation in these domains is along $[\pm5\ \pm5\ 19]$, different compared to the bulk $<11\bar{2}>$ directions. The final state of the N\'eel vector $\textbf{n}$ switching after current pulses $\textbf{j}$ along the $[1\ \pm1\ 0]$ directions is $\textbf{n}\parallel \textbf{j}$. By comparing the observed N\'eel vector orientation and the strain in the thin films, assuming that this variation arises solely from magnetoelastic effects, we quantify the order of magnitude of the magnetoelastic coupling coefficient as $b_{0}+2b_{1}=3*10^7 J\ m^{-3}$ . This information is key for the understanding of current-induced switching in antiferromagnets and for the design and use of such devices as active elements in spintronic devices.

The system generates two errors of "Bad character(s) in field Abstract" for no reason. Please refer to the manuscript for the full abstract., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures

The interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) in multilayers of heavy metal and ferromagnetic metals enables the stabilization of novel chiral spin structures such as skyrmions. Magnetic insulators, on the other hand can exhibit enhanced dynamics and properties such as lower magnetic damping and therefore it is of interest to combine the properties enabled by interfacial DMI with insulating systems. Here, we demonstrate the presence of interfacial DMI in heterostructures that include insulating magnetic layers. We use a bilayer of perpendicularly magnetized insulating thulium iron garnet (TmIG) and the heavy metal platinum, and find a surprisingly strong interfacial DMI that, combined with spin-orbit torque results, in efficient switching. The interfacial origin is confirmed through thickness dependence measurements of the DMI, revealing the characteristic 1/thickness dependence with one order of magnitude longer decay length compared to metallic layers. We combine chiral spin structures and spin-orbit torques for efficient switching and identify skyrmions that allow us to establish the GGG/TmIG interface as the origin of the DMI.

The spin configuration in the ferromagnetic part during the magnetization reversal plays a crucial role in the exchange bias effect. Through Monte Carlo simulation, the exchange bias effect in ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic core-shell nanoparticles is investigated. Magnetization reversals in the ferromagnetic core were controlled between the coherent rotation and the domain wall motion by modulating ferromagnetic domain wall width with parameters of uniaxial anisotropy constant and exchange coupling strength. An anomalous monotonic dependence of exchange bias on the uniaxial anisotropy constant is found in systems with small exchange coupling, showing an obvious violation of classic Meiklejohn-Bean model, while domain walls are found to form close to the interface and propagate in the ferromagnetic core with larger uniaxial anisotropy in both branches of the hysteresis. The asymmetric magnetization reversal with the formation of a spherical domain wall dramatically reduces the coercive field in the ascending branch, leading to the enhancement of the exchange bias. The results provide another degree of freedom to optimize the magnetic properties of magnetic nanoparticles for applications.