Room-Temperature Highly Efficient Nonvolatile Magnetization Switching by Current in van der Waals Fe₃GaTe₂ Devices

Area of Science:

• Spintronics
• Materials Science
• Condensed Matter Physics

Background:

• Spintronics aims to control magnetic states with electric currents.
• Two-dimensional van der Waals (vdW) magnetic materials show promise due to spin-orbit torque.
• Low Curie temperatures of many vdW ferromagnets hinder practical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop low-power vdW spintronic devices operating at room temperature.
• To demonstrate efficient magnetization switching in a vdW ferromagnet at room temperature.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of nanodevices using thin flakes of vdW ferromagnet Fe3GaTe2.
• Characterization of magnetization switching behavior under small electric currents.
• Measurement of switching current density and power dissipation.

Main Results:

• Achieved nonvolatile and highly efficient magnetization switching in Fe3GaTe2 at room temperature.
• Demonstrated a low switching current density of 1.7 × 10^5 A/cm^2.
• Achieved a low switching power dissipation of 1.6 × 10^13 W/m^3 with an 80 Oe magnetic field.

Conclusions:

• Fe3GaTe2 is a promising vdW ferromagnet for room-temperature spintronic applications.
• The achieved low switching parameters significantly outperform conventional heterostructures and other vdW devices.
• This work paves the way for practical, low-power, room-temperature spintronic devices.