The magnetic order in antiferromagnetic materials is hard to control with external magnetic fields. Using x-ray magnetic linear dichroism microscopy, we show that staggered effective fields generated by electrical current can induce modification of the antiferromagnetic domain structure in microdevices fabricated from a tetragonal CuMnAs thin film. A clear correlation between the average domain orientation and the anisotropy of the electrical resistance is demonstrated, with both showing reproducible switching in response to orthogonally applied current pulses. However, the behavior is inhomogeneous at the submicron level, highlighting the complex nature of the switching process in multidomain antiferromagnetic films.

Diamond Light Source Chilton Didcot Oxfordshire OX11 0DE United Kingdom

Institute of Physics Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Cukrovarnicka 10 162 00 Praha 6 Czech Republic

Institute of Physics Polish Academy of Sciences Aleja Lotnikow 32 46 PL 02668 Warsaw Poland

School of Physics and Astronomy University of Nottingham University Park Nottingham NG7 2RD United Kingdom

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