Thickness and power dependence of the spin-pumping effect inY3Fe5O12/Pt heterostructures measured by the inverse spin Hall effect

The dependence of the spin-pumping effect on the yttrium iron garnet $({\mathrm{Y}}_{3}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$, YIG) thickness detected by the inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE) has been investigated quantitatively. Due to the spin-pumping effect driven by the magnetization precession in the ferrimagnetic insulator ${\mathrm{Y}}_{3}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$ film a spin-polarized electron current is injected into the Pt layer. This spin current is transformed into electrical charge current by means of the ISHE. An increase of the ISHE voltage with increasing film thickness is observed and compared to the theoretically expected behavior. The effective damping parameter of t…

Low-damping spin-wave propagation in a micro-structured Co2Mn0.6Fe0.4Si Heusler waveguide

We report on the investigation of spin-wave propagation in a micro-structured Co2Mn0.6Fe0.4Si (CMFS) Heusler waveguide. The reduced magnetic losses of this compound compared to the commonly used Ni81Fe19 allow for the observation of spin-wave propagation over distances as high as 75 μm via Brillouin light scattering (BLS) microscopy. In the linear regime, a maximum decay length of 16.7 μm of the spin-wave amplitude was found. The coherence length of the observed spin-wave modes was estimated to be at least 16 μm via phase-resolved BLS techniques.

Roadmap on STIRAP applications

STIRAP (stimulated Raman adiabatic passage) is a powerful laser-based method, usually involving two photons, for efficient and selective transfer of populations between quantum states. A particularly interesting feature is the fact that the coupling between the initial and the final quantum states is via an intermediate state, even though the lifetime of the latter can be much shorter than the interaction time with the laser radiation. Nevertheless, spontaneous emission from the intermediate state is prevented by quantum interference. Maintaining the coherence between the initial and final state throughout the transfer process is crucial. STIRAP was initially developed with applications in …

Direct observation of spin diffusion enhanced nonadiabatic spin torque effects in rare-earth-doped permalloy

The relation between the nonadiabaticity parameter $\ensuremath{\beta}$ and the damping parameter $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ is investigated in permalloy-based microdisks. In order to determine $\ensuremath{\beta}$, high-resolution imaging of the current-induced vortex-core displacement is performed using scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis. The materials properties of the films are varied via rare-earth Dy doping, leading to a greatly enhanced damping, while retaining the same spin configuration for the confined vortex state. A clear trend to much higher nonadiabaticity values is seen for the higher doping levels and an averaged value of $\ensuremath{\beta}=(0.29\ifmmode\pm\…

Pulsed laser deposition of epitaxial yttrium iron garnet films with low Gilbert damping and bulk-like magnetization

Yttrium iron garnet (YIG, Y [subscript 3]Fe[subscript 5]O[subscript 12]) films have been epitaxially grown on Gadolinium Gallium Garnet (GGG, Gd[subscript 3]Ga[subscript 5]O[subscript 12]) substrates with (100) orientation using pulsed laser deposition. The films were single-phase, epitaxial with the GGG substrate, and the root-mean-square surface roughness varied between 0.14 nm and 0.2 nm. Films with thicknesses ranging from 17 to 200 nm exhibited low coercivity (<2 Oe), near-bulk room temperature saturation moments (∼135 emu cm[superscript −3]), in-plane easy axis, and damping parameters as low as 2.2 × 10[superscript −4]. These high quality YIG thin films are useful in the investigation…

Exchange stiffness in the Co2FeSi Heusler compound

Using Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy, we determine the spin-wave exchange stiffness D and the exchange constant A for thin films of the full Heusler compound Co2FeSi prepared by pulsed laser deposition. The thermal spin-wave spectra were measured in various magnetic fields, for different transferred spin-wave momenta, and for different film thicknesses. Fitting the observed spin-wave frequencies, we find an extraordinarily large value of

Effect of annealing on Co2FeAl0.5Si0.5thin films: A magneto-optical and x-ray absorption study

A series of Al and MgO-capped Co${}_{2}$FeAl${}_{0.5}$Si${}_{0.5}$ epitaxial thin films grown on MgO with various levels of L2${}_{1}$ ordering was obtained by in situ annealing. The films were studied by means of x-ray absorption spectroscopy, x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), magneto-optical Kerr effect magnetometry, and Brillouin light scattering. We find the anisotropy constants decrease, while the spin wave stiffness increases as the samples are annealed to higher temperatures. The magnetization as determined by Brillouin light scattering reveals a maximum value at intermediate annealing temperatures. Surprisingly, the orbital-to-spin-moment ratio (as seen from XMCD) is essenti…

Cluster issue on Heusler compounds and devices

Heisenberg Exchange and Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya Interaction in Ultrathin Pt(W)/CoFeB Single and Multilayers

We present results of the analysis of Brillouin light-scattering (BLS) measurements of spin waves performed on ultrathin single and multirepeat CoFeB layers with adjacent heavy metal layers. From a detailed study of the spin-wave dispersion relation, we independently extract the Heisenberg exchange interaction (also referred to as symmetric exchange interaction), the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI, also referred to as antisymmetric exchange interaction), and the anisotropy field. We find a large DMI in CoFeB thin films adjacent to a Pt layer and nearly vanishing DMI for CoFeB films adjacent to a W layer. Furthermore, the influence of the dipolar interaction on the dispersion relatio…

Brillouin light scattering study of Co$_{2}$Cr$_{0.6}$Fe$_{0.4}$Al and Co$_{2}$FeAl Heusler compounds

The thermal magnonic spectra of Co$_{2}$Cr$_{0.6}$Fe$_{0.4}$Al (CCFA) and Co$_2$FeAl were investigated using Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy (BLS). For CCFA, the exchange constant A (exchange stiffness D) is found to be 0.48 $\mu$erg/cm (203 meV A$^2$), while for Co$_2$FeAl the corresponding values of 1.55 $\mu$erg/cm (370 meV A$^2$) were found. The observed asymmetry in the BLS spectra between the Stokes and anti-Stokes frequencies was assigned to an interplay between the asymmetrical profiles of hybridized Damon-Esbach and perpendicular standing spin-wave modes, combined with the optical sensitivity of the BLS signal to the upper side of the CCFA or Co$_2$FeAl film.

Determination of the origin of the spin Seebeck effect - bulk vs. interface effects

The observation of the spin Seebeck effect in insulators has meant a breakthrough for spin caloritronics due to the unique ability to generate pure spin currents by thermal excitations in insulating systems without moving charge carriers. Since the recent first observation, the underlying mechanism and the origin of the observed signals have been discussed highly controversially. Here we present a characteristic dependence of the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect amplitude on the thickness of the insulating ferromagnet (YIG). Our measurements show that the observed behavior cannot be explained by any effects originating from the interface, such as magnetic proximity effects in the spin detec…

New materials with high spin polarization: half-metallic Heusler compounds

Length Scale of the Spin Seebeck Effect

We investigate the origin of the spin Seebeck effect in yttrium iron garnet (YIG) samples for film thicknesses from 20 nm to 50  μm at room temperature and 50 K. Our results reveal a characteristic increase of the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect amplitude with the thickness of the insulating ferrimagnetic YIG, which levels off at a critical thickness that increases with decreasing temperature. The observed behavior cannot be explained as an interface effect or by variations of the material parameters. Comparison to numerical simulations of thermal magnonic spin currents yields qualitative agreement for the thickness dependence resulting from the finite magnon propagation length. This allow…

Microstructure Design for Fast Lifetime Measurements of Magnetic Tunneling Junctions

The estimation of the reliability of magnetic field sensors against failure is a critical point concerning their application for industrial purposes. Due to the physical stochastic nature of the failure events, this can only be done by means of a statistical approach which is extremely time consuming and prevents a continuous observation of the production. Here, we present a novel microstructure design for a parallel measurement of the lifetime characteristics of a sensor population. By making use of two alternative designs and the Weibull statistical distribution function, we are able to measure the lifetime characteristics of a CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB tunneling junction population. The main param…

Magneto-optical characterization of single crystalline Co2FeAl0.4Si0.6thin films on MgO(1 0 0) substrates with Cr and MgO seed layers

We report on the experimental investigation of the influence of a seed layer on the magnetic properties of the full-Heusler alloy Co2FeAl0.4Si0.6 (CFAS). The studied magnetic films are grown epitaxially on MgO (1 0 0) substrates with Cr and/or MgO seed layers. By employing magneto-optical Kerr effect magnetometry we show that magnetic anisotropy can be tuned by choosing the proper seed layer. The results on CFAS show an overall uniaxial anisotropy plus a biaxial contribution which depends on the seed layer. In addition, if grown on MgO, a sharp increase in the coercive field HC at a series of angles symmetric with respect to the easy axis is present. Scanning Kerr-microscope imaging is perf…

Influence of the MgO barrier thickness on the lifetime characteristics of magnetic tunnelling junctions for sensors

Magnetic tunnelling junctions increasingly enter the market for magnetic sensor applications. Thus, technological parameters such as the lifetime characteristics become more and more important. Here, an analysis of the lifetime characteristics of magnetic tunnelling junctions using the Weibull statistical distribution for CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB junctions is presented. The Weibull distribution is governed by two parameters, the characteristic lifetime η of the population and the shape parameter β, which gives information about the presence of an infant mortality. The suitability of the Weibull distribution is demonstrated for the description of dielectric breakdown processes in MgO-based tunnelling…