531 research outputs found
Frequency Modulation of Spin-Transfer Oscillators
Spin-polarized dc electric current flowing into a magnetic layer can induce
precession of the magnetization at a frequency that depends on current. We show
that addition of an ac current to this dc bias current results in a frequency
modulated (FM) spectral output, generating sidebands spaced at the modulation
frequency. The sideband amplitudes and shift of the center frequency with drive
amplitude are in good agreement with a nonlinear FM model that takes into
account the nonlinear frequency-current relation generally induced by spin
transfer. Single-domain simulations show that ac current modulates the cone
angle of the magnetization precession, in turn modulating the frequency via the
demagnetizing field. These results are promising for communications and signal
processing applications of spin-transfer oscillators.Comment: 13 pages, 3 Figure
Temperature dependent dynamic and static magnetic response in magnetic tunnel junctions with Permalloy layers
Ferromagnetic resonance and static magnetic properties of CoFe/Al2O3/CoFe/Py
and CoFe/Al2O3/CoFeB/Py magnetic tunnel junctions and of 25nm thick
single-layer Permalloy(Py) films have been studied as a function of temperature
down to 2K. The temperature dependence of the ferromagnetic resonance excited
in the Py layers in magnetic tunnel junctions shows knee-like enhancement of
the resonance frequency accompanied by an anomaly in the magnetization near
60K. We attribute the anomalous static and dynamic magnetic response at low
temperatures to interface stress induced magnetic reorientation transition at
the Py interface which could be influenced by dipolar soft-hard layer coupling
through the Al2O3 barrier
Broadband Ferromagnetic Resonance Linewidth Measurement of Magnetic Tunnel Junction Multilayers
The broadband ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) linewidth of the free layer of
magnetic tunnel junctions is used as a simple diagnostic of the quality of the
magnetic structure. The FMR linewidth increases near the field regions of free
layer reversal and pinned layer reversal, and this increase correlates with an
increase in magnetic hysteresis in unpatterned films, low frequency noise in
patterned devices, and previous observations of magnetic domain ripple by use
of Lorentz microscopy. Postannealing changes the free layer FMR linewidth
indicating that considerable magnetic disorder, originating in the
exchange-biased pinned layer, is transferred to the free layer.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure
Switching Distributions for Perpendicular Spin-Torque Devices within the Macrospin Approximation
We model "soft" error rates for writing (WSER) and for reading (RSER) for
perpendicular spin-torque memory devices by solving the Fokker-Planck equation
for the probability distribution of the angle that the free layer magnetization
makes with the normal to the plane of the film. We obtain: (1) an exact, closed
form, analytical expression for the zero-temperature switching time as a
function of initial angle; (2) an approximate analytical expression for the
exponential decay of the WSER as a function of the time the current is applied;
(3) comparison of the approximate analytical expression for the WSER to
numerical solutions of the Fokker-Planck equation; (4) an approximate
analytical expression for the linear increase in RSER with current applied for
reading; (5) comparison of the approximate analytical formula for the RSER to
the numerical solution of the Fokker-Planck equation; and (6) confirmation of
the accuracy of the Fokker-Planck solutions by comparison with results of
direct simulation using the single-macrospin Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG)
equations with a random fluctuating field in the short-time regime for which
the latter is practical
Direct-Current Induced Dynamics in Co90Fe10/Ni80Fe20 Point Contacts
We have directly measured coherent high-frequency magnetization dynamics in
ferromagnet films induced by a spin-polarized DC current. The precession
frequency can be tuned over a range of several gigahertz, by varying the
applied current. The frequencies of excitation also vary with applied field,
resulting in a microwave oscillator that can be tuned from below 5 GHz to above
40 GHz. This novel method of inducing high-frequency dynamics yields
oscillations having quality factors from 200 to 800. We compare our results
with those from single-domain simulations of current-induced dynamics
Flux flow of Abrikosov-Josephson vortices along grain boundaries in high-temperature superconductors
We show that low-angle grain boundaries (GB) in high-temperature
superconductors exhibit intermediate Abrikosov vortices with Josephson cores,
whose length along GB is smaller that the London penetration depth, but
larger than the coherence length. We found an exact solution for a periodic
vortex structure moving along GB in a magnetic field and calculated the
flux flow resistivity , and the nonlinear voltage-current
characteristics. The predicted dependence describes well our
experimental data on unirradiated and irradiated
bicrystals, from which the core size , and the intrinsic depairing
density on nanoscales of few GB dislocations were measured for the
first time. The observed temperature dependence of
indicates a significant order parameter suppression in current channels between
GB dislocation cores.Comment: 5 pages 5 figures. Phys. Rev. Lett. (accepted
Adjusting magnetic nanostructures for high-performance magnetic sensors
The magnetic properties of the soft ferromagnetic layer in magnetic tunnel junctions are one of key factors to determine the performance of magnetoresistance sensors. We use a three-step orthogonal annealing procedure to modify the nanostructures of the free layer in the magnetic tunnel junction to control features such as magnetization reversal, coercivity, exchange field, and tunnel magnetoresistance ratio. We present a sensor with an improved sensitivity as high as 3944%/mT. This magnetic sensor only dissipates 200 lW of power while operating under an applied voltage of 1V
Electron correlation in two-photon double ionization of helium from attosecond to FEL pulses
We investigate the role of electron correlation in the two-photon double
ionization of helium for ultrashort XUV pulses with durations ranging from a
hundred attoseconds to a few femtoseconds. We perform time-dependent ab initio
calculations for pulses with mean frequencies in the so-called "sequential"
regime (photon energy above 54.4 eV). Electron correlation induced by the time
correlation between emission events manifests itself in the angular
distribution of the ejected electrons, which strongly depends on the energy
sharing between them. We show that for ultrashort pulses two-photon double
ionization probabilities scale non-uniformly with pulse duration depending on
the energy sharing between the electrons. Most interestingly we find evidence
for an interference between direct ("nonsequential") and indirect
("sequential") double photo-ionization with intermediate shake-up states, the
strength of which is controlled by the pulse duration. This observation may
provide a route toward measuring the pulse duration of FEL pulses.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
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