Fyzikální ústav Akademie věd ČR

Recently observed properties of charged ferroelectric domain walls (CDWs) make these structures promising for application in future electronics. It was demonstrated experimentally that the quasi two-dimensional electron gas is present at head-to-head CDWs [1]. The CDWs are therefore good conductors that can be moved by an external electric field. As suggested by theory [2] and experiment [3] CDWs with very low spacing may cause the enhancement of piezoelectric and dielectric properties. However, the problem of controlled regular growth and formation of CDWs is not well understood.

Recent demonstrations of magnetization switching driven by current-induced spin-orbit torques (SOTs) have drawn considerable attention in the field of spintronics. The SOTs are associated with the spin Hall and interfacial effects, and have been found to occur in a variety of normal-metal/ferromagnet systems. In this talk I will present harmonic transverse (Hall) and longitudinal (magnetoresistance) measurements on a variety of normal-metal/ferromagnet systems with a special focus on Pt/Co, Ta/Co layers with in-plane magnetization. I will discuss a new magnetoresistance effect (unidirectional spin Hall magnetoresistance) that we have recently discovered.