Magnon transport through microwave pumping

We present a microscopic theory of magnon transport in ferromagnetic insulators (FIs). Using magnon injection through microwave pumping, we propose a way to generate magnon dc currents and show how to enhance their amplitudes in hybrid ferromagnetic insulating junctions. To this end focusing on a single FI, we first revisit microwave pumping at finite (room) temperature from the microscopic viewpoint of magnon injection. Next, we apply it to two kinds of hybrid ferromagnetic insulating junctions. The first is the junction between a quasi-equilibrium magnon condensate and magnons being pumped by microwave, while the second is the junction between such pumped magnons and noncondensed magnons. We show that quasi-equilibrium magnon condensates generate ac and dc magnon currents, while noncondensed magnons produce essentially a dc magnon current. The ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) drastically increases the density of the pumped magnons and enhances such magnon currents. Lastly, using microwave pumping in a single FI, we discuss the possibility that a magnon current through an Aharonov-Casher phase flows persistently even at finite temperature. We show that such a magnon current arises even at finite temperature in the presence of magnon-magnon interactions. Due to FMR, its amplitude becomes much larger than the condensed magnon current.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Investigations on the Diffusion of Oxygen in Nickel at 1000°C by SIMS Analysis

High-purity polycrystalline nickel foils have been oxidized at 1000°C in laboratory air before being analyzed in secondary ion mass spectrometry to locally measure the oxygen content in solid solution. The values obtained in metallic grains are surprisingly the same before and after the oxidation treatments (between 5 and 10 atom ppm) and they are much lower than the ones predicted from the literature solubility and diffusion coefficient data at 1000°C. It is shown that this discrepancy could have its origins in the purity level of the samples but also in the exclusive oxygen diffusion in nickel grain boundaries. This last assumption is supported by the occurrence of nickel oxide particles on the walls of voids located in grain boundaries