- Letter
Sputtered topological insulators with high temperature tolerance for efficient magnetization switching
Phys. Rev. Applied 25, L041003 – Published 10 April, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/2ppk-w539
Abstract
Topological insulators (TIs), characterized by topologically protected surface states within the band structure, hold promise for spintronic devices owing to their efficient charge-to-spin current conversion. However, most TIs exhibit significant degradation when temperatures reach 350–400 °C in the annealing process of semiconductor fabrication, limiting their integration into TIs-based magnetic random-access memory (MRAM) technologies. Here, we report the magnetron sputtering growth of high-quality thin films on substrates, achieving smooth surfaces and notable thermal stability. These films retain structural integrity and functional performance after 1 h of annealing at 350 °C. When integrated into heterostructures, the 350 °C-annealed films exhibit a spin Hall angle of 1.6–3.5 (measured from 27 to 70 °C), surpassing conventional heavy metals (, ) by an order of magnitude and significantly outperforming chemically vapor-deposited films. Furthermore, by engineering a wedge-shaped asymmetric (wedged)/ structure, we achieve fieldfree perpendicular magnetization switching with a critical current density on the order of —comparable to devices fabricated via molecular beam epitaxy. These findings highlight the viability of sputtered for energy-efficient spintronics, offering industrial-compatible fabrication, robust high temperature resilience, and low-power operation—critical attributes for advancing next-generation MRAM technologies.