Perspective on room-temperature solid-state masers

The first solid-state masers to operate at room-temperature and ambient air-pressure were recently demonstrated using optically pumped spin-triplet states as the gain medium. In this Perspective, we briefly review the previous state-of-the-art in cryogenic solid-state masers and then discuss the development of the room-temperature solid-state maser: from the organic pentacene pulsed maser to the diamond nitrogen-vacancy continuous-wave maser. We characterize the operation of these masers as coherent microwave sources and ultra-low noise amplifiers before outlining how they can be adapted to act as model systems in which to explore room-temperature cavity quantum electrodynamics. After discussing challenges facing current embodiments of the room-temperature solid-state maser, we explore how they might be addressed or by-passed altogether through the development of alternative materials and masing mechanisms. Finally, we speculate on how the advent of masers that can operate in ambient conditions might lead to novel applications in metrology and quantum technologies

Spectral-fingerprinting: microstate readout via remanence ferromagnetic resonance in artificial spin systems

Artificial spin ices (ASIs) are magnetic metamaterials comprising geometrically tiled strongly-interacting nanomagnets. There is significant interest in these systems spanning the fundamental physics of many-body systems to potential applications in neuromorphic computation, logic, and recently reconfigurable magnonics. Magnonics focused studies on ASI have to date have focused on the in-field GHz spin-wave response, convoluting effects from applied field, nanofabrication imperfections ('quenched disorder') and microstate-dependent dipolar field landscapes. Here, we investigate zero-field measurements of the spin-wave response and demonstrate its ability to provide a 'spectral fingerprint' of the system microstate. Removing applied field allows deconvolution of distinct contributions to reversal dynamics from the spin-wave spectra, directly measuring dipolar field strength and quenched disorder as well as net magnetisation. We demonstrate the efficacy and sensitivity of this approach by measuring ASI in three microstates with identical (zero) magnetisation, indistinguishable via magnetometry. The zero-field spin-wave response provides distinct spectral fingerprints of each state, allowing rapid, scaleable microstate readout. As artificial spin systems progress toward device implementation, zero-field functionality is crucial to minimize the power consumption associated with electromagnets. Several proposed hardware neuromorphic computation schemes hinge on leveraging dynamic measurement of ASI microstates to perform computation for which spectral fingerprinting provides a potential solution

Realization of ground state in artificial kagome spin ice via topological defect-driven magnetic writing

Arrays of non-interacting nanomagnets are widespread in data storage and processing. As current technologies approach fundamental limits on size and thermal stability, enhancing functionality through embracing the strong interactions present at high array densities becomes attractive. In this respect, artificial spin ices are geometrically frustrated magnetic metamaterials that offer vast untapped potential due to their unique microstate landscapes, with intriguing prospects in applications from reconfigurable logic to magnonic devices or hardware neural networks. However, progress in such systems is impeded by the inability to access more than a fraction of the total microstate space. Here, we demonstrate that topological defect-driven magnetic writing—a scanning probe technique—provides access to all of the possible microstates in artificial spin ices and related arrays of nanomagnets. We create previously elusive configurations such as the spin-crystal ground state of artificial kagome dipolar spin ices and high-energy, low-entropy ‘monopole-chain’ states that exhibit negative effective temperatures

Current-controlled nanomagnetic writing for reconfigurable magnonic crystals

Strongly-interacting nanomagnetic arrays are crucial across an ever-growing suite of technologies. Spanning neuromorphic computing, control over superconducting vortices and reconfigurable magnonics, the utility and appeal of these arrays lies in their vast range of distinct, stable magnetization states. Different states exhibit different functional behaviours, making precise, reconfigurable state control an essential cornerstone of such systems. However, few existing methodologies may reverse an arbitrary array element, and even fewer may do so under electrical control, vital for device integration. We demonstrate selective, reconfigurable magnetic reversal of ferromagnetic nanoislands via current-driven motion of a transverse domain wall in an adjacent nanowire. The reversal technique operates under all-electrical control with no reliance on external magnetic fields, rendering it highly suitable for device integration across a host of magnonic, spintronic and neuromorphic logic architectures. Here, the reversal technique is leveraged to realize two fully solid-state reconfigurable magnonic crystals, offering magnonic gating, filtering, transistor-like switching and peak-shifting without reliance on global magnetic fields

Author Correction: Current-controlled nanomagnetic writing for reconfigurable magnonic crystals (Communications Physics, (2020), 3, 1, (219), 10.1038/s42005-020-00487-y)

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-020-00507-x.</jats:p

Current-controlled nanomagnetic writing for reconfigurable magnonic crystals

Strongly-interacting nanomagnetic arrays are crucial across an ever-growing suite of technologies. Spanning neuromorphic computing, control over superconducting vortices and reconfigurable magnonics, the utility and appeal of these arrays lies in their vast range of distinct, stable magnetisation states. Different states exhibit different functional behaviours, making precise, reconfigurable state control an essential cornerstone of such systems. However, few existing methodologies may reverse an arbitrary array element, and even fewer may do so under electrical control, vital for device integration. We demonstrate selective, reconfigurable magnetic reversal of ferromagnetic nanoislands via current-driven motion of a transverse domain wall in an adjacent nanowire. The reversal technique operates under all-electrical control with no reliance on external magnetic fields, rendering it highly suitable for device integration across a host of magnonic, spintronic and neuromorphic logic architectures. Here, the reversal technique is leveraged to realise two fully solid-state reconfigurable magnonic crystals, offering magnonic gating, filtering, transistor-like switching and peak-shifting without reliance on global magnetic fields

Sculpting the spin-wave response of artificial spin ice via microstate selection

Artificial spin ice (ASI) systems have emerged as promising hosts for magnonic applications due to a correspondence between their magnetic configuration and spin dynamics. Though it has been demonstrated that spin-wave spectra are influenced by the ASI microstate the precise nature of this relationship has remained unclear. Recent advances in controlling the magnetic configuration of ASI make harnessing the interplay between spin dynamics and the microstate achievable. This could allow diverse applications including reconfigurable magnonic crystals and programmable microwave filters. However, extracting any novel functionality requires a full understanding of the underlying spin-wave/microstate interaction. Here, we present a systematic analysis of how the microstate of a honeycomb ASI system affects its spin-wave spectrum through micromagnetic simulations. We find the spectrum to be highly tunable via the magnetic microstate, allowing the (de)activation of spin-wave modes and band-gap tuning via magnetic reversal of individual nanoislands. Symmetries of ASI systems and the chirality of “monopole” defects are found to play important roles in determining the high-frequency magnetic response

Magnonic bending, phase shifting and interferometry in a 2D reconfigurable nanodisk crystal.

Strongly interacting nanomagnetic systems are pivotal across next-generation technologies including reconfigurable magnonics and neuromorphic computation. Controlling magnetization states and local coupling between neighboring nanoelements allows vast reconfigurability and a host of associated functionalities. However, existing designs typically suffer from an inability to tailor interelement coupling post-fabrication and nanoelements restricted to a pair of Ising-like magnetization states. Here, we propose a class of reconfigurable magnonic crystals incorporating nanodisks as the functional element. Ferromagnetic nanodisks are crucially bistable in macrospin and vortex states, allowing interelement coupling to be selectively activated (macrospin) or deactivated (vortex). Through microstate engineering, we leverage the distinct coupling behaviors and magnonic band structures of bistable nanodisks to achieve reprogrammable magnonic waveguiding, bending, gating, and phase-shifting across a 2D network. The potential of nanodisk-based magnonics for wave-based computation is demonstrated via an all-magnon interferometer exhibiting XNOR logic functionality. Local microstate control is achieved here via topological magnetic writing using a magnetic force microscope tip

Observation and control of collective spin-wave mode-hybridisation in chevron arrays and square, staircase and brickwork artificial spin ices

Dipolar magnon-magnon coupling has long been predicted in nano-patterned artificial spin systems. However, observation of such phenomena and related collective spin-wave signatures have until recently proved elusive or limited to low-power edge-modes which are difficult to measure experimentally. Here we describe the requisite conditions for dipolar mode-hybridisation, how it may be controlled, why it was not observed earlier and how strong coupling may occur between nanomagnet bulk-modes. We experimentally investigate four nano-patterned artificial spin system geometries: `chevron' arrays, `square', `staircase' and `brickwork' artificial spin ices. We observe significant dynamic dipolar-coupling in all systems with relative coupling strengths and avoided-crossing gaps supported by micromagnetic-simulation results. We demonstrate reconfigurable mode-hybridisation regimes in each system via microstate control, and in doing so elucidate the underlying dynamics governing dynamic dipolar-coupling with implications across reconfigurable magnonics. We demonstrate that confinement of the bulk-modes via edge effects play a critical role in dipolar hybridised-modes, and treating nanoislands as a coherently precessing macro-spins or standing spin-waves are insufficient to capture experimentally-observed coupling phenomena. Finally, we present a parameter-space search detailing how coupling strength may be tuned via nanofabrication-dimensions and material properties

Reconfigurable magnonic mode-hybridisation and spectral control in a bicomponent artificial spin ice

Strongly-interacting nanomagnetic arrays are finding increasing use as model host systems for reconfigurable magnonics. The strong inter-element coupling allows for stark spectral differences across a broad microstate space due to shifts in the dipolar field landscape. While these systems have yielded impressive initial results, developing rapid, scaleable means to access abroad range of spectrally-distinct microstates is an open research problem.We present a scheme whereby square artificial spin ice is modified by widening a 'staircase' subset of bars relative to the rest of the array, allowing preparation of any ordered vertex state via simple global-field protocols. Available microstates range from the system ground-state to high-energy 'monopole' states, with rich and distinct microstate-specific magnon spectra observed. Microstate-dependent mode-hybridisation and anticrossings are observed at both remanence and in-field with dynamic coupling strength tunable via microstate-selection. Experimental coupling strengths are found up to g / 2$\pi$ = 0.15 GHz. Microstate control allows fine mode-frequency shifting, gap creation and closing, and active mode number selection