Spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor and electronic device comprising same

Abstract

The invention relates to a spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor and an electronic device including the same. A spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor may include: a first non-magnetic heavy metal layer formed of a non-magnetic heavy metal material having a spin Hall effect; a magnetic insulator layer formed on the first non-magnetic heavy metal layer; a topological insulator layer formed on the magnetic insulator layer; the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer is formed on the topological insulator layer; the first electrode and the second electrode are connected to the first non-magnetic heavy metal layer and used for applying in-plane current in the first direction to the first non-magnetic heavy metal layer; the third electrode and the fourth electrode are connected to the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer and used for measuring the Hall voltage of the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer in the first direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to the field of magnetic devices, and more particularly, to a spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor driven by a tunneling polarized current or a spin current, and an electronic device comprising the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor. Background Art

[0002] The Hall effect refers to the phenomenon that when the current flows perpendicular to the magnetic field, the carriers are deflected, and an additional electric field is generated in the direction orthogonal to the current and the magnetic field, so that a potential difference can be measured. This potential difference is also called the Hall voltage. The magnitude of the Hall voltage is related to the magnetic field strength, so the external magnetic field can be detected based on the Hall effect. Magnetic sensors based on the Hall effect, referred to as Hall sensors, have been widely used in the past because of their simple structure and low cost.

[0003] However, Hall sensors also have some disadvantages, such as the generally small amplitude of the Hall voltage signal they generate, resulting in low sensitivity. These disadvantages are particularly prominent under the current trend of device miniaturization, because the smaller the size, the smaller the Hall voltage measured under the same Hall electric field. Currently in the market, Hall sensors are being gradually replaced by magnetic sensors based on giant magnetoresistance effect and tunneling magnetoresistance effect.

[0004] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a Hall sensor having improved sensitivity to meet the demand for device miniaturization. Summary of the invention

[0005] An exemplary embodiment provides a spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor, comprising: a first non-magnetic heavy metal layer formed of a non-magnetic heavy metal material having a spin Hall effect; a magnetic insulator layer formed on the first non-magnetic heavy metal layer; a topological insulator layer formed on the magnetic insulator layer; a second non-magnetic heavy metal layer formed on the topological insulator layer; a first electrode and a second electrode connected to the first non-magnetic heavy metal layer, for applying an in-plane current along a first direction to the first non-magnetic heavy metal layer; and a third electrode and a fourth electrode connected to the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer, for measuring the Hall voltage of the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer in the first direction.

[0006] According to an exemplary embodiment, the first non-magnetic heavy metal layer and the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer include Pt, Ta, W, Hf or alloys thereof.

[0007] According to an exemplary embodiment, the magnetic insulator layer is formed of a soft magnetic insulating material, and the soft magnetic insulating material is selected from the group consisting of R3Fe5O 12 、MFe2O4、Fe3O4、BaFe 12 O 19and SrFe 12 O 19 The group wherein R is selected from the group including Y, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu, and M is selected from the group including Mn, Zn, Cu, Ni, Mg and Co.

[0008] According to an exemplary embodiment, the topological insulator layer includes Bi2Se3, (Bi,Sb)2Te3 or BiSb.

[0009] According to an exemplary embodiment, the magnetic insulator layer has a perpendicular magnetic moment.

[0010] Another exemplary embodiment provides a spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor, comprising: a non-magnetic heavy metal layer formed of a non-magnetic heavy metal material having a spin Hall effect; a topological insulator layer formed on the non-magnetic heavy metal layer; a non-magnetic insulator layer formed on the topological insulator layer; a ferromagnetic metal layer formed on the non-magnetic insulator layer; a first electrode and a second electrode respectively connected to the non-magnetic heavy metal layer and the ferromagnetic metal layer, for applying a vertical current flowing vertically through the spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor; and a third electrode and a fourth electrode connected to opposite sides of the non-magnetic heavy metal layer, for measuring the Hall voltage on the non-magnetic heavy metal layer.

[0011] According to an exemplary embodiment, the non-magnetic heavy metal layer includes Pt, Ta, W, Hf or an alloy thereof.

[0012] According to an exemplary embodiment, the topological insulator layer includes Bi2Se3, (Bi,Sb)2Te3 or BiSb.

[0013] According to an exemplary embodiment, the non-magnetic insulator layer includes MgO, Al2O3 or MgAl2O4.

[0014] According to an exemplary embodiment, the ferromagnetic metal layer is formed of a soft ferromagnetic metal material.

[0015] According to an exemplary embodiment, the soft ferromagnetic metal material is selected from the group consisting of Co, CoFe, CoFeB, CoFeSiB and NiFe.

[0016] According to an exemplary embodiment, the ferromagnetic metal layer has an in-plane magnetic moment, and the third electrode and the fourth electrode are configured to measure the Hall voltage of the non-magnetic heavy metal layer along a first direction, wherein the first direction is orthogonal to the direction of the perpendicular current and the direction of the in-plane magnetic moment of the ferromagnetic metal layer.

[0017] According to an exemplary embodiment, the sizes of the non-magnetic heavy metal layer and the topological insulator layer in the first direction are larger than the sizes of the non-magnetic insulator layer and the ferromagnetic metal layer in the first direction.

[0018] Another exemplary embodiment provides an electronic device, comprising any one of the above spin Hall magnetoresistive sensors.

[0019] According to an exemplary embodiment, the electronic device includes a first spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor, a second spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor, a third spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor and a fourth spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor, which are connected to form a Wheatstone bridge structure, the first spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor and the third spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor are connected in series in a first current arm of the Wheatstone bridge structure, the second spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor and the fourth spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor are connected in series in a second current arm of the Wheatstone bridge structure, the Hall voltage generated by the first spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor and the Hall voltage generated by the third spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor are superimposed in series in the first voltage arm, the Hall voltage generated by the second spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor and the Hall voltage generated by the fourth spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor are superimposed in series in the second voltage arm, and the bridge Hall voltage of the Wheatstone bridge structure is output between the middle node of the first voltage arm and the middle node of the second voltage arm.

[0020] According to an exemplary embodiment, the easy magnetization axes of the first spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor and the fourth spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor are set to be along a second direction, and the easy magnetization axes of the second spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor and the third spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor are set to be along a third direction orthogonal to the second direction, so that the Wheatstone bridge structure is configured to measure the magnitude of the external magnetic field along a fourth direction, and the fourth direction is at an angle of 45 degrees to each of the second direction and the third direction.

[0021] The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the layer structure of a spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a layer structure of a spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 3 is a block diagram of an electronic device including a spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of a Wheatstone bridge structure formed by connecting a plurality of spin Hall magnetoresistive sensors according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 5 yes Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the dependence curve between the output Hall voltage of the Wheatstone bridge structure and the size of the external magnetic field. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the accompanying drawings may not be drawn to scale.

[0028] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a layer structure of a spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 As shown, the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 100 may include a first non-magnetic heavy metal layer 102 formed on a non-magnetic insulating substrate (not shown), a magnetic insulator layer 104 formed on the first non-magnetic heavy metal layer 102, a topological insulator layer 106 formed on the magnetic insulator layer 104, and a second non-magnetic heavy metal layer 108 formed on the topological insulator layer 106.

[0029] The first non-magnetic heavy metal layer 102 and the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer 108 can each be formed of a non-magnetic heavy metal material having a spin Hall effect, and examples of such materials include, but are not limited to, for example, Pt, Ta, W, Hf, or alloys thereof. It is understood that the first non-magnetic heavy metal layer 102 and the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer 108 can be formed of the same or different materials.

[0030] The magnetic insulator layer 104 may be formed of a soft magnetic insulating material, and the easy magnetization axis direction of the magnetic insulator layer 104, or the magnetic moment direction thereof, may be a vertical direction. Figure 1 In the embodiment of FIG. 1 , the direction of the Z axis is the direction of the Z axis. Examples of soft magnetic insulating materials that can be used to form the magnetic insulator layer 104 include, but are not limited to, R3Fe5O 12 、MFe2O4、Fe3O4、BaFe 12 O 19 and SrFe 12 O 19 etc., wherein R can be selected from, for example, Y, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu, and M can be selected from, for example, Mn, Zn, Cu, Ni, Mg and Co.

[0031] The topological insulator layer 106 is formed of a topological insulator material, examples of which include but are not limited to Bi2Se3, (Bi, Sb)2Te3, and BiSb. The topological insulator material is a material with a large spin Hall angle, so the topological insulator layer 106 can increase the sensing signal of the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 100, which will be described in further detail below.

[0032] The first electrode 101 and the second electrode 103 may be arranged to be connected to the first non-magnetic heavy metal layer 102 for applying an in-plane current I to the first non-magnetic heavy metal layer 102. Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the in-plane current I applied by the first electrode 101 and the second electrode 103 may be in the X-axis direction, and the various layers included in the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 100 may be formed in an elongated shape extending in the X-axis direction, such as a long strip, an ellipse, or other shapes. Figure 1 The first electrode 101 and the second electrode 103 are shown to be located in a different layer from the first nonmagnetic heavy metal layer 102 , but they may also be located in the same layer as the first nonmagnetic heavy metal layer 102 , or the first electrode 101 and the second electrode 103 may be part of the first nonmagnetic heavy metal layer 102 .

[0033] The third electrode 107 and the fourth electrode 109 may be configured to be connected to the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer 108 to measure the Hall voltage V on the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer 108. The direction in which the third electrode 107 and the fourth electrode 109 measure the Hall voltage V may be the same as the direction in which the first electrode 101 and the second electrode 103 apply the in-plane current I. Figure 1 In the embodiment shown, it is the X-axis direction. Figure 1 The third electrode 107 and the fourth electrode 109 are shown to be located in a different layer from the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer 108 , but they may also be located in the same layer as the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer 108 , or the third electrode 107 and the fourth electrode 109 may be part of the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer 108 .

[0034] The operating principle of the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 100 is described below. When an in-plane current I is applied to the first non-magnetic heavy metal layer 102 using the first electrode 101 and the second electrode 103, a spin current is generated at the interface between the first non-magnetic heavy metal layer 102 and the magnetic insulator layer 104 due to the spin Hall effect. The generated spin current is injected into the magnetic insulator layer 104, and diffuses through the magnetic insulator layer 104 to reach the topological insulator layer 106. The topological insulator layer 106 is formed by a topological insulator material with a large spin Hall angle, so the injected spin current is amplified in the topological insulator layer 106, and the amplified spin current is generated in the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer 108 through the inverse spin Hall effect, and a Hall voltage V in the same direction as the in-plane current I is generated. It can be understood that the generated Hall voltage V is related to the magnitude of the magnetic moment of the magnetic insulator layer 104, and further to the magnitude of the external magnetic field in the direction of the easy magnetization axis of the magnetic insulator layer 104. Therefore, by using the third electrode 107 and the fourth electrode 109 to measure the Hall voltage V on the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer 108, the magnitude of the external magnetic field in the direction of the easy magnetization axis of the magnetic insulator layer 104 can be determined. In this embodiment, by using a topological insulator layer 106 with a large spin Hall angle to amplify the spin current signal, the Hall voltage V generated on the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer 108 can be significantly improved. Experiments show that the Hall voltage V can be increased from the order of tens of microvolts to the order of millivolts, which significantly improves the sensing signal strength of the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 100, thereby improving the accuracy of the sensor.

[0035] Figure 2 FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a layer structure of a spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 200 according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 In the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 100 shown in FIG. 1 , a spin current is used to generate a sensing voltage signal through the inverse spin Hall effect. Figure 2 In the illustrated spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 200 , a spin polarized current is used to generate a sensing voltage signal through the spin-orbit coupling effect and the inverse spin Hall effect, which will be described in detail below.

[0036] Reference Figure 2 The spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 200 may include a non-magnetic heavy metal layer 202 , a topological insulator layer 204 formed on the non-magnetic heavy metal layer 202 , a non-magnetic insulator layer 206 formed on the topological insulator layer 204 , and a ferromagnetic metal layer 208 formed on the non-magnetic insulator layer 206 .

[0037] The non-magnetic heavy metal layer 202 may be formed of a non-magnetic heavy metal material having a spin Hall effect, examples of such materials include but are not limited to Pt, Ta, W, Hf or their alloys. As described above, the topological insulator layer 204 may be formed of a topological insulator material such as but not limited to Bi2Se3, (Bi, Sb)2Te3 or BiSb. The non-magnetic insulator layer 206 may be formed of an insulating barrier material commonly used in a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), examples of which include but are not limited to MgO, Al2O3 and MgAl2O4, etc. The ferromagnetic metal layer 208 may be formed of a soft ferromagnetic metal material, examples of which may include but are not limited to Co, CoFe, CoFeB, CoFeSiB and NiFe, etc.

[0038] In the spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor 200, the first electrode 201 and the second electrode 203 can be respectively connected to the non-magnetic heavy metal layer 202 and the ferromagnetic metal layer 208 to apply a vertical current I flowing vertically through the spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor 200, and the third electrode 207 and the fourth electrode 209 are respectively connected to the opposite sides of the non-magnetic heavy metal layer 202 to measure the Hall voltage V generated on the non-magnetic heavy metal layer 202.

[0039] The operating principle of the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 200 is described below. When a vertical current I is applied to the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 200 by using the first electrode 201 and the second electrode 203, the ferromagnetic metal layer 208 polarizes the current to generate a spin polarized current. Figure 2 In the embodiment, when electrons flow through the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 200 from top to bottom, a spin-polarized electron flow corresponding to the magnetic moment direction of the ferromagnetic metal layer 208 is generated, which flows downward to the non-magnetic heavy metal layer 202; when electrons flow through the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 200 from bottom to top, the spin-polarized electron flow corresponding to the magnetic moment direction of the ferromagnetic metal layer 208 easily passes through the ferromagnetic metal layer 208, and the spin-polarized electron flow opposite to the magnetic moment direction of the ferromagnetic metal layer 208 is reflected to the non-magnetic heavy metal layer 202. Therefore, the spin-polarized current polarized by the ferromagnetic metal layer 208 is injected into the spin-orbit transfer torque (SOT) reading structure formed by the topological insulator layer 204 and the non-magnetic heavy metal layer 202 through the non-magnetic insulator layer 206. It can be understood that the non-magnetic insulator layer 206 can have a small thickness, for example, generally around 1nm or less, such as 0.8nm, 0.6nm. The topological insulator layer 204 also has a small thickness, and because of its large spin Hall angle, it can provide a larger spin-orbit coupling, thereby obtaining a larger Hall voltage V in the non-magnetic heavy metal layer 202. Therefore, the topological insulator layer 204 can significantly improve the sensing signal strength of the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 200 and improve the accuracy of the sensor.

[0040] It can be understood that the spin polarization direction of the spin polarized current generated by the ferromagnetic metal layer 208 depends on the direction of the magnetic moment of the ferromagnetic metal layer 208, and the magnitude of the spin polarized current depends on the magnitude of the magnetic moment of the ferromagnetic metal layer 208, and then depends on the external magnetic field component in the direction of the easy magnetization axis of the ferromagnetic metal layer 208. In one embodiment, the ferromagnetic metal layer 208 is formed to have an in-plane easy magnetization axis, that is, an in-plane magnetic moment, and the direction of the Hall voltage V generated in the non-magnetic heavy metal layer 202 is orthogonal to both the direction of the vertical current I and the direction of the magnetic moment of the ferromagnetic metal layer 208. The third electrode 207 and the fourth electrode 209 are arranged in the direction of the generated Hall voltage, so that the maximum sensing signal can be measured. In some embodiments, the non-magnetic heavy metal layer 202 and the topological insulator layer 204 can have a larger size than the non-magnetic insulator layer 206 and the ferromagnetic metal layer 208 in the direction of the generated Hall voltage, so that the magnitude of the measured Hall voltage V can be further improved.

[0041] Figure 3 is a block diagram of an electronic device 300 including a spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 310 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device 300 may be, for example, a mobile phone, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a media player, an in-vehicle electronic device, a personal digital assistant, and a wearable electronic device, which may include any one of the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensors 100 and 200 described above as the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 310, and may include a plurality of spin Hall magnetoresistive sensors 310 for measuring the external magnetic field in multiple directions, and then combining to obtain the direction and magnitude of the external magnetic field in three-dimensional space. Because the exemplary embodiments of the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensors 100 and 200 have been described in detail above, the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 310 will not be described in detail here.

[0042] It can be understood that since the relationship curve between the magnetic moment size of the soft ferromagnetic material and the size of the external magnetic field is not linear, the relationship between the size of the sensing signal (such as the Hall voltage) of the single above-mentioned spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor and the size of the external magnetic field determined by measurement is also not linear. To address this problem, one way is to calibrate the spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor in advance, determine the relationship curve between the sensing signal and the external magnetic field, and then determine the size of the external magnetic field based on the sensing signal and the determined relationship curve in actual applications. However, due to this nonlinear relationship, the sensing accuracy may be affected. Figure 4 An embodiment of a Wheatstone bridge structure in which four spin Hall magnetoresistive sensors are connected is shown, which can provide a linear sensing signal output, thereby improving detection accuracy.

[0043] Reference Figure 4The first spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor 200a, the second spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor 200b, the third spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor 200c and the fourth spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor 200d can be connected to form a Wheatstone bridge structure, wherein the first spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor 200a and the third spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor 200c are connected in series in the first current arm 301 of the Wheatstone bridge structure, and the second spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor 200b and the fourth spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor 200d are connected in series in the second current arm 303 of the Wheatstone bridge structure. In this embodiment, the directions of the easy magnetization axes of the first spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 200a and the fourth spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 200d (that is, the directions of the external magnetic fields they detect) can be set to be along the first direction, and the directions of the easy magnetization axes of the second spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 200b and the third spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor 200c can be set to be along the second direction orthogonal to the first direction, so that the measurement direction of the entire Wheatstone bridge structure is in a third direction between the first direction and the second direction, that is, the third direction forms an angle of 45 degrees with each of the first direction and the second direction.

[0044] Continue to refer to Figure 4 , the Hall voltage V generated by the first spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor 200a and the Hall voltage V generated by the third spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor 200c are superimposed in series in the first voltage arm 302, and the Hall voltage V generated by the second spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor 200b and the Hall voltage V generated by the fourth spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor 200d are superimposed in series in the second voltage arm 304, and a bridge Hall voltage of a Wheatstone bridge structure is output between the middle node of the first voltage arm 302 and the middle node of the second voltage arm 304, which can be measured by, for example, a voltage measuring element. With the Wheatstone bridge structure, since the measurement directions (easy magnetization axis directions) of the various spin Hall magnetoresistance sensors are orthogonal to each other and the voltage between the middle nodes of the two voltage arms is output, the linearity of the output Hall voltage signal can be improved, thereby improving the measurement accuracy.

[0045] Figure 5 Show Figure 4 The diagram shows the dependence curve between the output Hall voltage of the Wheatstone bridge structure and the external magnetic field. It can be seen that within the measurement range from H1 to H2, there is a linear relationship between the Hall voltage and the external magnetic field, so the size of the external magnetic field can be accurately determined by measuring the Hall voltage within this range.

[0046] exist Figure 4 In the Wheatstone bridge structure shown in the figure, it is assumed that the external magnetic field detection direction is the Y-axis direction. When an external magnetic field H along the Y-axis direction yWhen applied to the four spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor elements 200a-200d, the equivalent magnetization direction of each magnetoresistive sensor element can be obtained by minimizing the free energy density:

[0047]

[0048] Among them, H bias =H FL +H Oe , H FL is the effective field caused by the spin-orbit effect in non-magnetic heavy metals, H Oe The effective magnetic field provided by the current in the non-magnetic heavy metal when the shunt effect is ignored is the Oersted field H Oe , N x and N y is the demagnetization factor along the X-axis and Y-axis, H k is the uniaxial anisotropic field of the ferromagnetic metal, θ is the angle between the easy magnetization axis and the magnetic moment direction of the ferromagnetic metal, M s is the saturation magnetization of the ferromagnetic metal. From the minimized energy ∈ we can get The demagnetization field H d =M s (N y -N x ). For spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor elements of different shapes (e.g., elliptical, strip, circular, annular, etc.), the angle θ between the easy magnetization axis and the magnetic moment direction of the ferromagnetic metal mentioned above will be different, which will lead to different magnetoresistance. In one embodiment, a magnetoresistance sensor element can also be designed. When certain conditions are met, the total resistance of four spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor elements can be linearized with the external magnetic field under a certain current, so that the size of the external magnetic field can be determined by measuring the magnetoresistance.

[0049] Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims, the words "comprise", "comprising", "including", "comprising", etc. should be interpreted in an inclusive sense, rather than an exclusive or exhaustive sense. That is, the meaning is "including but not limited to". The word "connected" as generally used herein refers to two or more elements that can be directly connected or connected through one or more intermediate elements. As generally used herein, the word "connected" refers to two or more elements that can be directly connected or connected through one or more intermediate elements. In addition, when used in this application, the words "herein", "above", "below" and words of similar meanings should refer to the entirety of this application rather than to any particular part of this application. Where the context permits, the word "or" refers to a list of two or more items, which covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any item in the list, all items in the list, and any combination of items in the list.

[0050] Furthermore, unless otherwise specifically stated or understood in the context of use, conditional language used herein, such as "can," "may," "might," "could," "for example," "for example," "such as," and the like, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, and / or states. Thus, such conditional language is generally not intended to imply that one or more embodiments require features, elements, and / or states in any way, or that one or more embodiments must include logic for making decisions, with or without author input or prompting, that such features, elements, and / or states are included or will be performed in any particular embodiment.

[0051] Although certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments are presented only by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In fact, the novel facilities, methods, and systems described herein may be embodied in various other forms; in addition, various omissions, substitutions, and changes may be made to the forms of the methods and systems described herein without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. For example, although blocks are presented in a given arrangement, alternative embodiments may perform functions similar to different components and / or circuit topologies, and may delete, move, add, subdivide, combine, and / or modify some blocks. Each of these blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Any suitable combination of the elements and actions of the various embodiments described above may be combined to provide further embodiments. The attached claims and their equivalents are intended to cover these forms or modifications that fall within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

[0052] The above description has been given for the purpose of illustration and description. In addition, this description is not intended to limit the embodiments of the present invention to the forms disclosed herein. Although a number of example aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those skilled in the art will recognize certain variations, modifications, changes, additions and sub-combinations thereof.

Claims

1. A spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor, comprising: A first non-magnetic heavy metal layer is formed of a non-magnetic heavy metal material having a spin Hall effect; a magnetic insulator layer formed on the first non-magnetic heavy metal layer; a topological insulator layer formed on the magnetic insulator layer; a second non-magnetic heavy metal layer formed on the topological insulator layer; a first electrode and a second electrode connected to the first non-magnetic heavy metal layer, for applying an in-plane current along a first direction to the first non-magnetic heavy metal layer; as well as The third electrode and the fourth electrode connected to the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer are used to measure the Hall voltage of the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer in the first direction.

2. The spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor according to claim 1, wherein: The first non-magnetic heavy metal layer and the second non-magnetic heavy metal layer include Pt, Ta, W, Hf or alloys thereof, The magnetic insulator layer is formed of a soft magnetic insulating material, and the soft magnetic insulating material is selected from the group consisting of R3Fe5O 12 、MFe2O4、Fe3O4、BaFe 12 O 19 and SrFe 12 O 19 The group wherein R is selected from the group including Y, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu, M is selected from the group including Mn, Zn, Cu, Ni, Mg and Co, The topological insulator layer includes Bi2Se3, (Bi,Sb)2Te3 or BiSb.

3. The spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor according to claim 1, wherein: The magnetic insulator layer has a perpendicular magnetic moment.

4. A spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor, comprising: A non-magnetic heavy metal layer, formed of a non-magnetic heavy metal material having a spin Hall effect; A topological insulator layer formed on the non-magnetic heavy metal layer; a non-magnetic insulator layer formed on the topological insulator layer; a ferromagnetic metal layer formed on the non-magnetic insulator layer; a first electrode and a second electrode respectively connected to the non-magnetic heavy metal layer and the ferromagnetic metal layer, for applying a vertical current flowing vertically through the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor; as well as The third electrode and the fourth electrode connected to opposite sides of the non-magnetic heavy metal layer are used to measure the Hall voltage on the non-magnetic heavy metal layer.

5. The spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor according to claim 4, wherein: The non-magnetic heavy metal layer includes Pt, Ta, W, Hf or their alloys, The topological insulator layer comprises Bi2Se3, (Bi,Sb)2Te3 or BiSb, The non-magnetic insulator layer comprises MgO, Al2O3 or MgAl2O4, The ferromagnetic metal layer is formed of a soft ferromagnetic metal material selected from the group consisting of Co, CoFe, CoFeB, CoFeSiB and NiFe.

6. The spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor according to claim 4, wherein: The ferromagnetic metal layer has an in-plane magnetic moment, and the third electrode and the fourth electrode are configured to measure the Hall voltage of the non-magnetic heavy metal layer along a first direction, which is orthogonal to the direction of the perpendicular current and the direction of the in-plane magnetic moment of the ferromagnetic metal layer.

7. The spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor according to claim 6, wherein: The sizes of the non-magnetic heavy metal layer and the topological insulator layer in the first direction are greater than the sizes of the non-magnetic insulator layer and the ferromagnetic metal layer in the first direction.

8. An electronic device comprising the spin Hall magnetoresistive sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein: The electronic device comprises a first spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor (200a), a second spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor (200b), a third spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor (200c) and a fourth spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor (200d), which are connected to form a Wheatstone bridge structure, wherein the first spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor (200a) and the third spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor (200c) are connected in series in a first current arm (301) of the Wheatstone bridge structure, and the second spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor (200b) and the fourth spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor (200d) are connected in series in a first current arm (301) of the Wheatstone bridge structure. In the second current arm (303) of the Wheatstone bridge structure, the Hall voltage generated by the first spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor (200a) and the Hall voltage generated by the third spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor (200c) are superimposed in series in the first voltage arm (302), the Hall voltage generated by the second spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor (200b) and the Hall voltage generated by the fourth spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor (200d) are superimposed in series in the second voltage arm (304), and the bridge Hall voltage of the Wheatstone bridge structure is output between the middle node of the first voltage arm and the middle node of the second voltage arm.

10. The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein: The easy magnetization axes of the first spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor (200a) and the fourth spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor (200d) are arranged along a second direction, and the easy magnetization axes of the second spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor (200b) and the third spin Hall magnetoresistance sensor (200c) are arranged along a third direction orthogonal to the second direction, so that the Wheatstone bridge structure is configured to measure the magnitude of the external magnetic field along a fourth direction, and the fourth direction forms an angle of 45 degrees with each of the second direction and the third direction.

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