Spin-Orbit Torque Engineering in β-W/CoFeB Heterostructures via Ta and V Alloying at Interfaces

Abstract: Spin-orbit torque manifested as an accumulated spin-polarized moment at nonmagnetic normal metal, and ferromagnet interfaces is a promising magnetization switching mechanism for spintronic devices. To fully exploit this in practice, materials with a high spin Hall angle, i.e., a charge-to-spin conversion efficiency, are indispensable. To date, very few approaches have been made to devise new nonmagnetic metal alloys. Moreover, new materials need to be compatible with semiconductor processing. Here we introduce W-Ta and W-V alloys and deploy them at the interface between $\beta$-W/CoFeB layers. First, spin Hall conductivities of W-Ta and W-V structures with various compositions are carried out by first-principles band calculations, which predict the spin Hall conductivity of the W-V alloy is improved from $-0.82 \times 10^3$ S/cm that of W to $-1.98 \times 10^3$ S/cm. Subsequently, heterostructure fabrication and spin-orbit torque properties are characterized experimentally. By alloying $\beta$-W with V at a concentration of 20 at%, we observe a large enhancement of the absolute value of spin Hall conductivity of up to $-(2.77 \pm 0.31) \times 10^3$ S/cm. By employing X-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy, we further explain the enhancement of spin-orbit torque efficiency is stemmed from W-V alloy between W and CoFeB.