Implementing Complex Oxides for Efficient Room-Temperature Spin–Orbit Torque Switching

Complex oxides hosting 4d and 5d cations with significant spin–orbit coupling have recently been shown as promising materials for efficient spin-charge interconversion. Through interfacing 4d and 5d oxides with magnet layers, a large spin–orbit torque (SOT) is reported. However, a room-temperature SOT switching of perpendicular magnetization by using these oxides, which is essential for spintronic devices, is not demonstrated. Here, this is addressed yet missing aspect by studying heterostructures comprised of two representative complex oxides (4d SrRuO₃ and 5d SrIrO₃) and a compensated ferrimagnet FeGd with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. A room temperature current-induced SOT switching of perpendicular magnetization in both SrRuO₃/FeGd and SrIrO₃/FeGd bilayers, with the critical switching current density on the order of 10⁶ A cm⁻² is demonstrated. The SOT efficiencies of SrRuO₃ and SrIrO₃ are further quantified by using harmonic Hall voltage measurements. The results suggest that the strongly correlated oxides could be another promising platform for enabling energy-efficient spin-orbitronic applications.