Crossover between fast and slow excitation of magnetization by spin torque

Abstract

A crossover between two mechanisms destabilizing the magnetization in equilibrium by the spin transfer effect is found in a ferromagnetic multilayer consisting of an in-plane magnetized free layer and a perpendicularly magnetized pinned layer, where an in-plane magnetic field is applied, and electric current flows from the pinned to the free layer. A fast transition from the in-plane to the out-of-plane state occurs in the low-field region, whereas a slow transition with small-amplitude oscillation becomes dominant in the high-field region. On the other hand, only the fast transition mechanism appears for the opposite current direction.