207 research outputs found
Current-induced Pinwheel Oscillations in Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy Spin Valve Nanopillars
Nanopillar spin valve devices are typically comprised of two ferromagnetic
layers: a reference layer and a free layer whose magnetic orientation can be
changed by both an external magnetic field and through the introduction of
spin-polarized electric current. Here we report the continuous repeated
switching behavior of both the reference and free layers of a perpendicular
spin valve made of Co/Pd and Co/Ni multilayers that arises for sufficiently
large DC currents. This periodic switching of the two layers produces an
oscillating signal in the MHz regime but is only observed for one sign of the
applied current. The observed behavior agrees well with micromagnetic
simulations
Thermal Effects on the Magnetic Field Dependence of Spin Transfer Induced Magnetization Reversal
We have developed a self-aligned, high-yield process to fabricate CPP
(current perpendicular to the plane) magnetic sensors of sub 100 nm dimensions.
A pinned synthetic antiferromagnet (SAF) is used as the reference layer which
minimizes dipole coupling to the free layer and field induced rotation of the
reference layer. We find that the critical currents for spin transfer induced
magnetization reversal of the free layer vary dramatically with relatively
small changes the in-plane magnetic field, in contrast to theoretical
predictions based on stability analysis of the Gilbert equations of
magnetization dynamics including Slonczewski-type spin-torque terms. The
discrepancy is believed due to thermal fluctuations over the time scale of the
measurements. Once thermal fluctuations are taken into account, we find good
quantitative agreement between our experimental results and numerical
simulations.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, Submitted to Appl. Phys. Lett., Comparison of
some of these results with a model described by N. Smith in cond-mat/040648
Spin torque ferromagnetic resonance with magnetic field modulation
We demonstrate a technique of broadband spin torque ferromagnetic resonance
(ST-FMR) with magnetic field modulation for measurements of spin wave
properties in magnetic nanostructures. This technique gives great improvement
in sensitivity over the conventional ST-FMR measurements, and application of
this technique to nanoscale magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) reveals a rich
spectrum of standing spin wave eigenmodes. Comparison of the ST-FMR
measurements with micromagnetic simulations of the spin wave spectrum allows us
to explain the character of low-frequency magnetic excitations in nanoscale
MTJs.Comment: Also see: http://faculty.sites.uci.edu/krivorotovgroup
Time-resolved investigation of magnetization dynamics of arrays of non-ellipsoidal nanomagnets with a non-uniform ground state
We have performed time-resolved scanning Kerr microscopy (TRSKM) measurements
upon arrays of square ferromagnetic nano-elements of different size and for a
range of bias fields. The experimental results were compared to micromagnetic
simulations of model arrays in order to understand the non-uniform precessional
dynamics within the elements. In the experimental spectra two branches of
excited modes were observed to co-exist above a particular bias field. Below
the so-called crossover field, the higher frequency branch was observed to
vanish. Micromagnetic simulations and Fourier imaging revealed that modes from
the higher frequency branch had large amplitude at the center of the element
where the effective field was parallel to the bias field and the static
magnetization. Modes from the lower frequency branch had large amplitude near
the edges of the element perpendicular to the bias field. The simulations
revealed significant canting of the static magnetization and the effective
field away from the direction of the bias field in the edge regions. For the
smallest element sizes and/or at low bias field values the effective field was
found to become anti-parallel to the static magnetization. The simulations
revealed that the majority of the modes were de-localized with finite amplitude
throughout the element, while the spatial character of a mode was found to be
correlated with the spatial variation of the total effective field and the
static magnetization state. The simulations also revealed that the frequencies
of the edge modes are strongly affected by the spatial distribution of the
static magnetization state both within an element and within its nearest
neighbors
Cotunneling drag effect in Coulomb-coupled quantum dots
In Coulomb drag, a current flowing in one conductor can induce a voltage
across an adjacent conductor via the Coulomb interaction. The mechanisms
yielding drag effects are not always understood, even though drag effects are
sufficiently general to be seen in many low-dimensional systems. In this
Letter, we observe Coulomb drag in a Coulomb-coupled double quantum dot
(CC-DQD) and, through both experimental and theoretical arguments, identify
cotunneling as essential to obtaining a correct qualitative understanding of
the drag behavior.Comment: Main text: 5 pages, 5 figures; SM: 11 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl
Time-Resolved Magnetic Relaxation of a Nanomagnet on Subnanosecond Time Scales
We present a two-current-pulse temporal correlation experiment to study the
intrinsic subnanosecond nonequilibrium magnetic dynamics of a nanomagnet during
and following a pulse excitation. This method is applied to a model
spin-transfer system, a spin valve nanopillar with perpendicular magnetic
anisotropy. Two-pulses separated by a short delay (< 500 ps) are shown to lead
to the same switching probability as a single pulse with a duration that
depends on the delay. This demonstrates a remarkable symmetry between magnetic
excitation and relaxation and provides a direct measurement of the magnetic
relaxation time. The results are consistent with a simple finite temperature
Fokker-Planck macrospin model of the dynamics, suggesting more coherent
magnetization dynamics in this short time nonequilibrium limit than near
equilibrium
Bias and angular dependence of spin-transfer torque in magnetic tunnel junctions
We use spin-transfer-driven ferromagnetic resonance (ST-FMR) to measure the
spin-transfer torque vector T in MgO-based magnetic tunnel junctions as a
function of the offset angle between the magnetic moments of the electrodes and
as a function of bias, V. We explain the conflicting conclusions of two
previous experiments by accounting for additional terms that contribute to the
ST-FMR signal at large |V|. Including the additional terms gives us improved
precision in the determination of T(V), allowing us to distinguish among
competing predictions. We determine that the in-plane component of has a weak
but non-zero dependence on bias, varying by 30-35% over the bias range where
the measurements are accurate, and that the perpendicular component can be
large enough to be technologically significant. We also make comparisons to
other experimental techniques that have been used to try to measure T(V).Comment: 30 pages, 8 figures. Expanded with additional data and discussion. In
press at PR
Temperature dependent nucleation and propagation of domain walls in a sub-100 nm perpendicularly magnetized Co/Ni multilayer
We present a study of the temperature dependence of the switching fields in
Co/Ni-based perpendicularly magnetized spin-valves. While magnetization
reversal of all-perpendicular Co/Ni spin valves at ambient temperatures is
typically marked by a single sharp step change in resistance, low temperature
measurements can reveal a series of resistance steps, consistent with
non-uniform magnetization configurations. We propose a model that consists of
domain nucleation, propagation and annihilation to explain the temperature
dependence of the switching fields. Interestingly, low temperature (<30 K) step
changes in resistance that we associate with domain nucleation, have a bimodal
switching field and resistance step distribution, attributable to two competing
nucleation pathways.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
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