LAUSR

Controlling spin orientation in magnetic nanostructures is one of the crucial issues in modern spintronics. The authors show a mechanism for steering the spin direction of a ferromagnet that is coupled to FeRh alloy. In Co/FeRh epitaxial bilayers, when the FeRh undergoes its antiferromagnetic-to-ferromagnetic transition, spins in the Co film reversibly switch between orthogonal in-plane directions. This phenomenon, which goes beyond the popular idea of heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), provides a means of writing information $p\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}u\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}r\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}e\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}l\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}y$ by a temperature change, which could be due to localized laser illumination, for example.