Recently, a research team led by Professor Zhao Weisheng from the School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering at Beihang University has made a remarkable breakthrough in the field of orbitronics. To tackle the challenges of low write efficiency and the practical application hurdles faced by orbitronics material systems, the team engineered a high-performance Ru/W orbital torque bottom electrode that seamlessly integrates with magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). By harnessing orbital torque, they successfully demonstrated picosecond-scale electrical switching of MTJs. When compared to conventional spin-orbit torque-based magnetic memory devices, the newly developed orbital torque magnetic memory devices boast a significantly lower write voltage, exhibit highly uniform write electrode resistance, and offer promising prospects for further reducing area overhead. This achievement marks a pivotal step in the evolution of orbitronics research, transitioning from fundamental physical mechanisms to real-world applications.
