We study the current-induced spin–orbit
torque (SOT) switching
and out-of-plane (OOP) effective field in a CuPt/CoPt heterostructure.
By using three measurement methods (“continuous current”
mode, “pulsed current+nonequilibrium” mode, and “pulsed
current+equilibrium” mode), we found their switching loops
show distinct behaviors and their OOP effective fields have different
dependencies on the current. Our observation identified the important
role of the thermal effect in the SOT process with large current.