Electrically driven spin torque and dynamical Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in magnetic bilayer systems

Abstract: Efficient control of magnetism with electric means is a central issue of current spintronics research, which opens an opportunity to design integrated spintronic devices. However, recent well-studied methods are mostly based on electric-current injection, and they are inevitably accompanied by considerable energy losses through Joule heating. Here we theoretically propose a way to exert spin torques into magnetic bilayer systems by application of electric voltages through taking advantage of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction. The torques resemble the well-known electric-current-induced torques, providing similar controllability of magnetism but without Joule-heating energy losses. The torques also turn out to work as an interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction which enables us to activate and create noncollinear magnetism like skyrmions by electric-voltage application. Our proposal offers an efficient technique to manipulate magnetizations in spintronics devices without Joule-heating energy losses.