Jingkai Xu, Dongxing Zheng, Meng Tang, Chenxi Liu, Bin He, Man Yang, Hao Li, Yan Li, Aitian Chen, Senfu Zhang, Ziqiang Qiu, Xixiang Zhang
Spin orbitronics, based on both spin and orbital angular momentum, presents a promising pathway for energy-efficient memory and logic devices. Recent studies have demonstrated the emergence of orbital currents in light transition metals such as Ti , Cr , and Zr , broadening the scope of torque-driven magnetization switching. In particular, the orbital Hall effect, which arises independently of spin-orbit coupling, has shown potential for enhancing torque efficiency in spintronic devices. However, to date, limited work has focused on the direct integration of orbital current into a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ). In this work, we design a light metal/heavy metal/ferromagnet multilayer structure and experimentally demonstrate magnetization switching by orbital current. Furthermore, we have realized a robust spin-orbit torque MTJ cell by incorporating a reference layer that is pinned by a synthetic antiferromagnetic structure. We observed a tunnel magnetoresistance of 66%, evident in both magnetic field and current-driven switching processes. Our findings underscore the potential for employing orbital current in designing next-generation spintronic devices.