Giant anomalous charge-spin conversion at Co/Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–Pb0.7Ti0.3O3 interfaces

Abstract

An efficient out-of-plane anti-damping spin–orbit torque (SOT) is in great demand for high-density spintronic devices with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Despite its importance, direct realization of such SOT in a single magnetic layer is scarce and has remained challenging. Here, we present experimental evidence uncovering unconventional out-of-plane anti-damping torques in the Co film deposited on the ferroelectric Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–Pb0.7Ti0.3O3 (PMN–PT) substrate. We show via spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance that both Rashba- and unconventional-type SOT give rise to a high-efficient charge-to-spin conversion. The strong magnetoelectric effect at the Co/PMN-PT interface allows further directly electric-field control of the conversion.