Researchers from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and South China Normal University have proposed a hybrid transfer and epitaxy strategy, enabling the heterogeneous integration of single-crystal oxide spin Hall materials on silicon substrates for high-performance oxide-based spintronic devices.
Heterogeneous integration of single-crystal SrRuO3 films on silicon for spin-orbit torque devices with low-power consumption. Credit: NIMTE
Single-crystal oxide spin Hall materials are known for their exceptional charge-spin conversion efficiency, making them promising candidates for low-power spintronic devices, particularly spin-orbit torque (SOT) devices. However, integrating these materials with silicon substrates poses significant challenges. To address these challenges, the researchers developed a method that combines transfer technology with epitaxial deposition, successfully integrating oxide spin Hall materials onto silicon substrates. Using this approach, they were able to create single-crystal SrRuO3 (SRO) films on silicon substrates and prepare corresponding SOT devices.
The SRO film demonstrated a high spin Hall conductivity of 6.1×104 ħ/2e S·m-1, enabling magnetization switching with a low critical current density of 1.3×1010 A·m-2 in the SOT devices.
Furthermore, multi-state magnetization switching characteristics were observed, allowing these devices to simulate biological synaptic and neuronal functions. An artificial neural network utilizing these devices achieved an impressive accuracy rate of 88% in image recognition tasks.
This study details a new integration method for silicon-based oxide electronics, showcasing the broad applicability of the hybrid transfer and epitaxy strategy across various oxide material systems. It could advance the development of high-performance silicon-based spintronic devices and hold great potential for low-power electronics and neuromorphic computing applications.