Vector-Resolved Magnetooptic Kerr Effect Measurements of Spin–Orbit Torque

Abstract

We demonstrate simultaneous detection of current-driven dampinglike and fieldlike spin-orbit torques in heavy metal/ferromagnetic metal bilayers by measuring all three magnetization components m <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">x</sub> , m <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">y</sub> and m <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">z</sub> using a vector-resolved magnetooptic Kerr effect (MOKE) technique based on quadrant detection. We investigate the magnitude and direction of spin-orbit torques in a series of platinum/permalloy samples, finding good agreement with results obtained via polar and quadratic MOKE measurements without quadrant detection.