382 research outputs found
Current-driven microwave oscillations in current perpendicular-to-plane spin-valve nanopillars
We study the current and temperature dependences of the microwave voltage
emission of spin-valve nanopillars subjected to an in-plane magnetic field and
a perpendicular-to-plane current. Despite the complex multilayer geometry,
clear microwave emission is shown to be possible and spectral lines as narrow
as 3.8 MHz (at 150 K) are observed.Comment: To appear in Applied Physics Letter
Stress-Induced Angular Momentum Quenching in MgO: Fe\u3csup\u3e2+\u3c/sup\u3e as Observed by Mössbauer Spectroscopy
Under the influence of a suitable uniaxial stress, the quenching of the electronic angular momentum of the low-lying threefold degenerate Γ5g level of Fe2+ in cubic MgO has been observed by Mössbauer spectroscopy. The result is consistent with Ham\u27s model for the appearance of a quadrupole doublet at low temperatures. A value for the strain coefficient of Fe2+ in MgO has been obtained: G11=585 cm-1
Ordering intermetallic alloys by ion irradiation: a way to tailor magnetic media
Combining He ion irradiation and thermal mobility below 600K, we both trigger
and control the transformation from chemical disorder to order in thin films of
an intermetallic ferromagnet (FePd). Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations show how
the initial directional short range order determines order propagation.
Magnetic ordering perpendicular to the film plane was achieved, promoting the
initially weak magnetic anisotropy to the highest values known for FePd films.
This post-growth treatment should find applications in ultrahigh density
magnetic recording.Comment: 7 pages, 3 Figure
Phase Coherent Precessional Magnetization Reversal in Micro-scopic Spin Valve Elements
We study the precessional switching of the magnetization in microscopic spin
valve cells induced by ultra short in-plane hard axis magnetic field pulses.
Stable and highly efficient switching is monitored following pulses as short as
140 ps with energies down to 15 pJ. Multiple application of identical pulses
reversibly toggles the cell's magnetization be-tween the two easy directions.
Variations of pulse duration and amplitude reveal alter-nating regimes of
switching and non-switching corresponding to transitions from in-phase to
out-of-phase excitations of the magnetic precession by the field pulse. In the
low field limit damping becomes predominant and a relaxational reversal is
found allowing switching by hard axis fields below the in-plane anisotropy
field threshold.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figure
Quantized spin wave modes in magnetic tunnel junction nanopillars
We present an experimental and theoretical study of the magnetic field
dependence of the mode frequency of thermally excited spin waves in rectangular
shaped nanopillars of lateral sizes 60x100, 75x150, and 105x190 nm2, patterned
from MgO-based magnetic tunnel junctions. The spin wave frequencies were
measured using spectrally resolved electrical noise measurements. In all
spectra, several independent quantized spin wave modes have been observed and
could be identified as eigenexcitations of the free layer and of the synthetic
antiferromagnet of the junction. Using a theoretical approach based on the
diagonalization of the dynamical matrix of a system of three coupled, spatially
confined magnetic layers, we have modeled the spectra for the smallest pillar
and have extracted its material parameters. The magnetization and exchange
stiffness constant of the CoFeB free layer are thereby found to be
substantially reduced compared to the corresponding thin film values. Moreover,
we could infer that the pinning of the magnetization at the lateral boundaries
must be weak. Finally, the interlayer dipolar coupling between the free layer
and the synthetic antiferromagnet causes mode anticrossings with gap openings
up to 2 GHz. At low fields and in the larger pillars, there is clear evidence
for strong non-uniformities of the layer magnetizations. In particular, at zero
field the lowest mode is not the fundamental mode, but a mode most likely
localized near the layer edges.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, (re)submitted to PR
Current-driven vortex oscillations in metallic nanocontacts
We present experimental evidence of sub-GHz spin-transfer oscillations in
metallic nano-contacts that are due to the translational motion of a magnetic
vortex. The vortex is shown to execute large-amplitude orbital motion outside
the contact region. Good agreement with analytical theory and micromagnetics
simulations is found.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Exchange energies in CoFeB/Ru/CoFeB Synthetic Antiferromagnets
The interlayer exchange coupling confers specific properties to Synthetic
Antiferromagnets that make them suitable for several applications of
spintronics. The efficient use of this magnetic configuration requires an
in-depth understanding of the magnetic properties and their correlation with
the material structure. Here we establish a reliable procedure to quantify the
interlayer exchange coupling and the intralayer exchange stiffness in synthetic
antiferromagnets; we apply it to the ultrasmooth and amorphous
CoFeB (5-40 nm)/Ru/ CoFeB material
platform. The complex interplay between the two exchange interactions results
in a gradient of the magnetization orientation across the thickness of the
stack which alters the hysteresis and the spin wave eigenmodes of the stack in
a non trivial way. We measured the field-dependence of the frequencies of the
first four spin waves confined within the thickness of the stack. We modeled
these frequencies and the corresponding thickness profiles of these spin waves
using micromagnetic simulations. The comparison with the experimental results
allows to deduce the magnetic parameters that best account for the sample
behavior. The exchange stiffness is established to be 16 2 pJ/m,
independently of the CoFeB thickness. The interlayer
exchange coupling starts from -1.7 mJ/m for the thinnest layers and it can
be maintained above -1.3 mJ/m for CoFeB layers as thick as 40 nm. The
comparison of our method with earlier characterizations using the sole
saturation fields argues for a need to revisit the tabulated values of
interlayer exchange coupling in thick synthetic antiferromagnets
Unidirectionality of spin waves in Synthetic Antiferromagnets
We study the frequency non-reciprocity of the spin waves in symmetric
CoFeB/Ru/CoFeB synthetic antiferromagnets stacks set in the scissors state by
in-plane applied fields. Using a combination of Brillouin Light Scattering and
propagating spin wave spectroscopy experiments, we show that the acoustical
spin waves in synthetic antiferromagnets possess a unique feature if their
wavevector is parallel to the applied field: the frequency non-reciprocity can
be so large that the acoustical spin waves transfer energy in a unidirectional
manner for a wide and bipolar interval of wavevectors. Analytical modeling and
full micromagnetic calculations are conducted to account for the dispersion
relations of the optical and acoustical spin waves for arbitrary field
orientations. Our formalism provides a simple and direct method to understand
and design devices harnessing propagating spin waves in synthetic
antiferromagnets
Distribution of the magnetization reversal duration in sub-ns spin-transfer switching
We study the distribution of switching times in spin-transfer switching
induced by sub-ns current pulses in pillar-shaped spin-valves. The pulse
durations leading to switching follow a comb-like distribution, multiply-peaked
at a few most probable, regularly spaced switching durations. These durations
reflect the precessional nature of the switching, which occurs through a
fluctuating integer number of precession cycles. This can be modeled
considering the thermal variance of the initial magnetization orientations and
the occurrence of vanishing total torque in the possible magnetization
trajectories. Biasing the spin-valve with a hard axis field prevents some of
these occurrences, and can provide an almost perfect reproducibility of the
switching duration.Comment: submitted to PR
Measuring a population of spin waves from the electrical noise of an inductively coupled antenna
We study how a population of spin waves can be characterized from the
analysis of the electrical microwave noise delivered by an inductive antenna
placed in its vicinity. The measurements are conducted on a synthetic
antiferromagnetic thin stripe covered by a micron-sized antenna that feeds a
spectrum analyser after amplification. The antenna noise contains two
contributions. The population of incoherent spin waves generates a fluctuating
field that is sensed by the antenna: this is the "magnon noise". The antenna
noise also contains the contribution of the electronic fluctuations: the
Johnson-Nyquist noise. The latter depends on all impedances within the
measurement circuit; this includes the antenna self-inductance. As a result,
the electronic noise contains information about the magnetic susceptibility,
though it does not inform on the absolute amplitude of the magnetic
fluctuations. For micrometer-sized systems at thermal equilibrium, the
electronic noise dominates and the pure magnon noise cannot be determined. If
in contrast the spinwave bath is not at thermal equilibrium with the
measurement circuit, and if the spinwave population can be changed then one
could measure a mode-resolved effective magnon temperature provided specific
precautions are implemented
- …