Current and Spin-Torque in Double Tunnel Barrier Ferromagnet - Superconductor - Ferromagnet Systems

We calculate the current and the spin-torque in small symmetric double tunnel barrier ferromagnet - superconductor - ferromagnet (F-S-F) systems. Spin-accumulation on the superconductor governs the transport properties when the spin-flip relaxation time is longer than the transport dwell time. In the elastic transport regime, it is demonstrated that the relative change in the current (spin-torque) for F-S-F systems equals the relative change in the current (spin-torque) for F-N-F systems upon changing the relative magnetization direction of the two ferromagnets. This differs from the results in the inelastic transport regime where spin-accumulation suppresses the superconducting gap and dramatically changes the magnetoresistance [S. Takahashi, H. Imamura, and S. Maekawa, Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 3911 (1999)]. The experimental relevance of the elastic and inelastic transport regimes, respectively, as well as the reasons for the change in the transport properties are discussed.Comment: 7 page

Spin-Flip Transistor

The recently developed semiclassical theory for magnetoelectronic circuits is applied to a transistor-like device consisting of a normal metal island and three magnetic terminals. The electric current between source and drain can be controlled by the magnetization of a ``base'' reservoir up to distances of the order of the spin-flip diffusion length.Comment: Proceedings of NATO-ARW on Semiconductor Nanostructures, 5-9 February 2001, Queenstown, NZ, to be published in Physica

The evolution of Bernstein modes in quantum wires with increasing deviation from parabolic confinement

We investigate the evolution of the interaction of the magnetoplasmon resonance with the harmonics of the cyclotron resonance as the confinement of an electron gas in a quantum wire increasingly deviates from the parabolic case. The occurrence of the Bernstein modes is observed in a time-dependent Hartree model of a two-dimensional electron gas in a single quantum wire.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, uses IOP macros, to appear in the Journal of Physics: Condensed Matte

Terahertz Antiferromagnetic Spin Hall Nano-Oscillator

We consider the current-induced dynamics of insulating antiferromagnets in a spin Hall geometry. Sufficiently large in-plane currents perpendicular to the N\'{e}el order trigger spontaneous oscillations at frequencies between the acoustic and the optical eigenmodes. The direction of the driving current determines the chirality of the excitation. When the current exceeds a threshold, the combined effect of spin pumping and current-induced torques introduces a dynamic feedback that sustains steady-state oscillations with amplitudes controllable via the applied current. The ac voltage output is calculated numerically as a function of the dc current input for different feedback strengths. Our findings open a route towards terahertz antiferromagnetic spin-torque oscillators.Comment: 5+ pages, 4 figure