Controlling the Interlayer Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya Interaction by Electrical Currents
Fabian Kammerbauer, Won‐Young Choi, Frank Freimuth, Kyujoon Lee, Robert Frömter, Dong‐Soo Han, Reinoud Lavrijsen, H. J. M. Swagten, Yuriy Mokrousov, Mathias Kläui
Abstract
The recently discovered interlayer Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (IL-DMI) in multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy favors canting of spins in the in-plane direction. It could thus stabilize intriguing spin textures such as Hopfions. A key requirement for nucleation is to control the IL-DMI. Therefore, we investigate the influence of an electric current on a synthetic antiferromagnet with growth-induced IL-DMI. The IL-DMI is quantified by using out-of-plane hysteresis loops of the anomalous Hall effect while applying a static in-plane magnetic field at varied azimuthal angles. We observe a shift in the azimuthal dependence with an increasing current, which we conclude to originate from the additional in-plane symmetry breaking introduced by the current flow. Fitting the angular dependence, we demonstrate the presence of an additive current-induced term that linearly increases the IL-DMI in the direction of current flow. This opens the possibility of easily manipulating 3D spin textures by currents.