Magnetization switching in polycrystalline Mn3Sn thin film induced by self-generated spin-polarized current

Electrical manipulation of spins is essential to design state-of-the-art spintronic devices and commonly relies on the spin current injected from a second heavy-metal material. The fact that chiral antiferromagnets produce spin current inspires us to explore the magnetization switching of chiral spins using self-generated spin torque. Here, we demonstrate the electric switching of noncollinear antiferromagnetic state in Mn 3 Sn by observing a crossover from conventional spin-orbit torque to the self-generated spin torque when increasing the MgO thickness in Ta/MgO/Mn 3 Sn polycrystalline films. The spin current injection from the Ta layer can be controlled and even blocked by varying the MgO thickness, but the switching sustains even at a large MgO thickness. Furthermore, the switching polarity reverses when the MgO thickness exceeds around 3 nm, which cannot be explained by the spin-orbit torque scenario due to spin current injection from the Ta layer. Evident current-induced switching is also observed in MgO/Mn 3 Sn and Ti/Mn 3 Sn bilayers, where external injection of spin Hall current to Mn 3 Sn is negligible. The inter-grain spin-transfer torque induced by spin-polarized current explains the experimental observations. Our findings provide an alternative pathway for electrical manipulation of non-collinear antiferromagnetic state without resorting to the conventional bilayer structure. Under an applied current, chiral antiferromagnets, such as Mn 3 Sn, can produce a spin-polarized current. Here, by varying the thickness of a buffering layer, the authors show that this spin-polarized current can drive self-induced switching in polycrystalline Mn 3 Sn.