Giant spin torque in systems with anisotropic exchange interaction

Vladimir L. Korenev

Published 2012-10-16, updated 2014-03-10Version 4

Control of magnetic domain wall movement by the spin-polarized current looks promising for creation of a new generation of magnetic memory devices. A necessary condition for this is the domain wall shift by a low-density current. Here I show that a strongly anisotropic exchange interaction between mobile heavy holes and localized magnetic moments enormously increases the current-induced torque on the domain wall as compared to systems with isotropic exchange. This enables one to control the domain wall motion by current density 10^4 A/cm^2 in ferromagnet/semiconductor hybrids. The experimental observation of the anisotropic torque will facilitate the integration of ferromagnetism into semiconductor electronics