Direct and indirect spin current generation and spin-orbit torques in ferromagnet/nonmagnet/ferromagnet trilayers

Spin-orbit torques in ferromagnet/nonmagnet/ferromagnet trilayers are studied using a combination of symmetry analysis, circuit theory, semiclassical simulations, and first-principles calculations using the non-equilibrium Green's function method with supercell disorder averaging. We focus on unconventional processes involving the interplay between the two ferromagnetic layers, which are classified into direct and indirect mechanisms. The direct mechanism involves spin current generation by one ferromagnetic layer and its subsequent absorption by the other. In the indirect mechanism, the in-plane spin-polarized current from one ferromagnetic layer ``leaks'' into the other layer, where it is converted into an out-of-plane spin current and reabsorbed by the original layer. The direct mechanism results in a predominantly dampinglike torque, which damps the magnetization towards a certain direction \(\mathbf{s}_d\). The indirect mechanism results in a predominantly fieldlike torque with respect to a generally different direction \(\mathbf{s}_f\). Similar to the current-in-plane giant magnetoresistance, the indirect mechanism is only active if the thickness of the nonmagnetic spacer is smaller than or comparable to the mean-free path. Numerical calculations for a semiclassical model based on the Boltzmann equation confirm the presence of both direct and indirect mechanisms of spin current generation. First-principles calculations reveal sizeable unconventional spin-orbit torques in Co/Cu/Co, Py/Cu/Py, and Co/Pt/Co trilayers and provide strong evidence of indirect spin current generation.