Numerical Study on Current-Induced Switching of Synthetic Antiferromagnet

Abstract

Synthetic antiferromagnets (SAFs) are used as free layer structures for various magnetic devices utilizing spin-transfer torque (STT). Therefore, it is important to understand current-induced excitation of SAFs. By means of drift-diffusion and macrospin models, we studied the current-induced excitation of a SAF-free layer structure (NiFe/Ru/NiFe). The simulation results were compared with the previous experimental results [N. Smith et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 247205 (2008)]. We confirmed that a nonzero STT through the Ru layer is essential for explaining the experimental results.