A first-principles demonstration that 3d ferromagnetic metals can act as spin-current sources with out-of-plane spin polarization, enabling deterministic field-free switching of perpendicular magnetization. Two spin Hall mechanisms are separated: a relativistic, spin-orbit-coupling-driven spin Hall effect in Fe, Co, Ni and their alloys (spin Hall angle ~0.01-0.02), and a non-relativistic spin Hall effect from anisotropic spin-polarized transport in L10-MnAl(101) that reaches a giant spin Hall angle around 0.25 at room temperature. Density-functional calculations map spin Hall conductivity against temperature and alloy composition, and Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert simulations confirm field-free perpendicular-magnetization switching, positioning ferromagnetic metals as spin-orbit-torque sources for spintronic devices.
A first-principles (density-functional) study of the spin Hall effect in 3d ferromagnetic metals as spin-current sources for field-free switching of perpendicular magnetization in spin-orbit-torque d…