The growing demand for higher-capacity, faster, and more energy-efficient non-volatile memory technologies has driven significant advances in spintronic devices. Traditional data storage based on magnetic systems have faced fundamental scaling limitations due to thermal heating, current leakage, and the superparamagnetic limit. The development of spin-transfer torque (STT) and spin-orbit torque (SOT) mechanisms has provided new pathways for efficient magnetization control in ultrathin magnetic layers, enabling innovations such as magnetic random access memory (MRAM).

While SOT-based approaches have expanded the range of materials and device architectures for spintronic applications, their efficiency remains limited by the relativistic nature of weak spin-orbit coupling, which is relatively strong in rare, expensive, and environmentally unfriendly heavy metals. Recently, orbital currents and their influence on magnetization dynamics have gained significant attention. Theoretical and experimental studies suggest that the orbital Hall effect (OHE) could offer a more efficient alternative to spin currents. Unlike the spin Hall effect, the OHE leverages orbital angular momentum, which is predicted to be significantly stronger in abundant, low-cost, and environmentally friendly light metals, making it a more versatile mechanism for generating current-induced torques.

This project focuses on exploring the emerging roles of the orbital Hall effect, orbital-to-spin conversion, and orbital torques in light-metal/ferromagnet heterostructures. We investigate spin and orbital torques across various material systems, including thin films and low-dimensional materials, metals and insulators, as well as ferromagnets and ferrimagnets. Additionally, we examine the behavior of these torques under different temperature conditions to gain a comprehensive understanding of their dynamics.

Utilizing key experimental techniques such as second harmonic measurements, we systematically analyze the efficiency of current-induced torques. Building on these insights, our ultimate goal is to deepen our understanding of the physics behind orbital-to-spin-to-charge conversion, explore highly efficient current-induced torques, and develop new strategies for their control. These advancements will enable novel functionalities for manipulating magnetization dynamics via orbital angular momentum, providing a promising alternative to traditional spin-based approaches and paving the way for more efficient and scalable spin-orbitronic devices.