Temperature dependence of current-induced magnetization switching in spin valves with a ferrimagnetic CoGd free layer

Abstract

The temperature dependence of current-induced magnetization switching of ferrimagnetic CoGd free layers in spin valves is explored. At temperatures well above and well below the magnetization compensation temperature (TMC) of CoGd, a current flowing from the free layer to the CoFe fixed layer aligns the moments of the two layers parallel, and a current flowing in the opposite direction aligns them antiparallel. However, for intermediate temperatures just above TMC, the current-induced alignment of the moments is reversed. We attribute this effect to the different compensation temperatures of the net magnetization and angular momentum of CoGd. © 2006 The American Physical Society.