Spin transfer in nanomagnetic devices with perpendicular anisotropy

Spin momentum transfer in a nanomagnetic device with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy for both free and fixed magnetic layers is studied. The perpendicular anisotropy is induced by using CoFe/Pt multilayer. The magnetoresistive loop shows that the perpendicular switching fields for the free and fixed layers are 170 and 380 Oe, respectively, with Delta R/R=0.47%. Resistance-current scanning clearly shows a full out-of-plane switching of the free layer magnetization under a sweeping current, which fully excludes the effect of switching by the magnetic field generated by the current. The critical current density is around 1.0 x 10(8) A/cm(2), which could be tuned by changing the CoFe/Pt multilayer structures. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.