Thermal Relaxation Rates of Magnetic Nanoparticles in the Presence of Magnetic Fields and Spin-Transfer Effects

We have measured the relaxation time of a thermally unstable ferromagnetic nanoparticle incorporated into a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) as a function of applied magnetic field, voltage V (-0.38 V < V < +0.26 V), and temperatures (283 K< T< 363 K) . By analyzing the results within the framework of a modified N\'eel-Brown formalism we determine the effective attempt time of the nanoparticle and also the bias dependences of the in-plane and out-of-plane spin torques. There is a significant linear modification of the effective temperature with voltage due to the in-plane torque and a significant contribution of a "field like" torque that is quadratic with voltage. The methods presented here do not require complicated models for device heating or calibration procedures, but instead directly measure how temperature, field, and voltage influence the energy landscape and thermal fluctuations of a two-state system. These results should have significant implications for designs of future nanometer-scale magnetic random access memory elements and provide a straightforward methodology to determine these parameters in other MTJ device structures

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

Ferrite-ferroelectric thin films with tunable electrical and magnetic properties

A growing need for developing new multi-functional materials operating at microwave frequencies is demanding a better understanding of ferroelectric and ferrimagnetic materials and their combinations. Some of these materials exhibit tunable physical properties, giving an extra degree of freedom in the device design. New multifunctional ferroelectric and ferrimagnetic thin film structures are investigated in this dissertation research, in which dielectric and magnetic properties can separately be tuned over a certain frequency range. The materials of choice, Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 (BST) and BaFe12O19 (BaM), both well studied and used in many microwave applications, were prepared using rf magnetron sputtering and pulsed laser ablation. Thin-film bilayers, multilayers and composite thin films were grown on various substrates, and their underlying microstructure and crystallographic properties were analyzed and optimized. After identifying the most successful growth conditions,dielectric and magnetic properties were measured. Unusual features in magnetic hysteresis loops in both sputtered and laser ablated films grown under different conditions were observed. Microcircuits were fabricated using optical lithography and microwave properties and tunability were tested in the range 1-65 GHz

Picotesla Magnetic Sensors for Low-Frequency Applications

We demonstrate a simple low-power, magnetic sensor system suitable for high-sensitivity magnetic-field mapping, based on solid-state magnetic tunnel junction devices with minimum detectable fields in a 100 pT range at room temperature. In this paper, we discuss a method that uses multilayer thin films to improve the performance of the soft ferromagnetic layer in magnetoresistive sensor applications, by reducing the coercivity and/or improving the reversibility.We have used it in the design of our new magnetic sensor. This sensor has a sensitivity as high as 750%/mT. The magnetic sensor only dissipates 1 mW of power while operating under an applied voltage of 1 V

An Electron Transfer driven Magnetic Switch: Ferromagnetic Exchange and Spin Delocalization in Iron Verdazyl Complexes

The verdazyl ‘pincer’ ligand, 1-isopropyl-3,5-dipyridyl-6-oxoverdazyl (dipyvd), coordinates iron to form a series of pseudooctahedral coordination compounds [Fe(dipyvd)2]n+ (n = 0–3). In the case where n = 2, the molecular geometry and physical and spectral properties are consistent with a low spin (S = 0) iron(II) ion coordinated by two ferromagnetically coupled radical ligands. Upon one electron reduction, the room temperature effective magnetic moment of the complex jumps from μeff = 2.64 to μeff = 5.86 as a result of spin crossover of the iron atom combined with very strong ferromagnetic coupling of the remaining ligand centered unpaired electron with the metal center. The sign of the exchange is opposite to that observed in other high spin iron/radical ligand systems and appears to be a result of delocalization of the ligand unpaired electron across the whole molecule. The large change in magnetic properties, combined with a delocalized electronic structure and accessible redox potentials, suggests the utility of this and related systems in the development of novel molecular spintronic devices