ELECTRICALLY GATED THREE-TERMINAL CIRCUITS AND DEVICES BASED ON SPIN HALL TORQUE EFFECTS IN MAGNETIC NANOSTRUCTURES

摘要

3-terminal magnetic circuits and devices based on the spin-transfer torque (STT) effect via a combination of injection of spin-polarized electrons or charged particles by using a charge current in a spin Hall effect metal layer coupled to a free magnetic layer and application of a gate voltage to the free magnetic layer to manipulate the magnetization of the free magnetic layer for various applications, including non-volatile memory functions, logic functions and others. The charge current is applied to the spin Hall effect metal layer via first and second electrical terminals and the gate voltage is applied between a third electrical terminal and either of the first and second electrical terminals. The spin Hall effect metal layer can be adjacent to the free magnetic layer or in direct contact with the free magnetic layer to allow a spin-polarized current generated via a spin Hall effect under the charge current to enter the free magnetic layer. The disclosed 3-terminal magnetic circuits can also be applied to signal oscillator circuits and other applications.