  We study current-driven magnetization switching in nanofabricated
Ni84Fe16/Cu/Ni84Fe16 trilayers at 295 K and 4.2 K. The shape of the hysteretic
switching diagram at low magnetic field changes from 295 K to 4.2 K. The
reversible behavior at higher field involves two phenomena, a threshold current
for magnetic excitations closely correlated with the switching current, and a
peak in differential resistance characterized by telegraph noise, with average
period that decreases exponentially with current and shifts with temperature.
We interpret both static and dynamic results at 295 K and 4.2 K in terms of
thermal activation over a potential barrier, with a current dependent effective
magnetic temperature.
