Picosecond electric field pulse induced coherent magnetic switching in MgO/FePt/Pt(001)-based tunnel junctions: a multiscale study

Combined methods of first-principles calculations and Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) macrospin simulations are performed to investigate the coherent magnetization switching in the MgO/FePt/Pt(001)-based magnetic tunnel junctions triggered by short pulses of electric field through the control of magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) electrically. First-principles calculations indicate that the MAE of MgO/FePt/Pt(001) film varies linearly with the change of the electric field, whereas the LLG simulations show that the change in MAE by electric field pulses could induce the in-plane magnetization reversal of the free layer by tuning the pulse parameters. We find that there exist a critical pulse width τ(min) to switch the in-plane magnetization, and this τ(min) deceases with the increasing pulse amplitude E(0). Besides, the magnetization orientation cannot be switched when the pulse width exceeds a critical value τ(max), and τ(max) increases asymptotically with E(0). In addition, there exist some irregular switching areas at short pulse width due to the high precessional frequency under small initial angle. Finally, a successive magnetization switching can be achieved by a series of electric field pulses.