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Octupole-driven spin torque switching of antiferromagnetic tunnel junctions

Published: 10/21/2026, 12:00 AM

Nature (2026) Cite this article Magnetic tunnel junctions based on ferromagnets are canonical devices in spintronics, with wide-ranging applications in data storage, computing and sensing. They simultaneously exhibit mechanisms for electrical detection and control of magnetic order through the tunnelling magnetoresistance (TMR)1,2,3,4,5 and spin-transfer torque6,7,8,9 effects, respectively. It was long assumed that neither of these effects could be sizeable in all-antiferromagnetic tunnel junctions (AATJs), considering that they have no net magnetization. However, it was recently shown that AATJs based on chiral antiferromagnets do exhibit TMR due to their non-relativistic momentum-dependent spin polarization and cluster magnetic octupole moment, which are manifestations of their spin–split band structure10,11,12,13. However, the reciprocal effect, that is, the antiferromagnetic counterpart of spin–transfer torque, has been assumed non-existent due to the total electric current being spin-neutral. Here we report nanoscale AATJs that display this reciprocal effect, which we term octupole-driven spin-transfer torque (OTT). We demonstrate current-induced OTT switching of PtMn3|MgO|PtMn3 AATJs, with a TMR value of 363% at room temperature and switching current densities of the order of 10 MA cm–2. Our theoretical modelling explains the origin of OTT in terms of the imbalance between intra- and inter-sublattice spin currents across the AATJ, and, equivalently, in terms of the non-zero net cluster octupole polarization of each PtMn3 layer. This work establishes a new materials platform for antiferromagnetic spintronics and provides a pathway towards deeply scaled magnetic memory and room-temperature terahertz technologies. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout The data that support the plots in this paper and other findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request. The scientific colour maps developed by Crameri et al.67 are used in this study to prevent visual distortion of the data and exclusion of readers with colour vision deficiencies68. Source data are provided with this paper. Moodera, J. S., Kinder, L. R., Wong, T. M. & Meservey, R. Large magnetoresistance at room temperature in ferromagnetic thin film tunnel junctions. Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 3273–3276 (1995). Article ADS CAS PubMed Google Scholar Miyazaki, T. & Tezuka, N. Giant magnetic tunneling effect in Fe/Al2O3/Fe junction. J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 139, L231–L234 (1995).