Resolving the Fundamentals of Magnetotransport in Metals with Ultrafast Terahertz Spectroscopy

Using terahertz spectroscopy we directly resolved the fundamentals of spin-dependent conductivity in ferromagnetic metals. We quantified the differences in conduction by Fermi-level electrons with opposite spins on the sub-100 fs timescale of electron momentum scattering.

Magnons at low excitations: Observation of incoherent coupling to a bath of two-level systems

Collective magnetic excitation modes, magnons, can be coherently coupled to microwave photons in the single excitation limit. This allows for access to quantum properties of magnons and opens up a range of applications in quantum information processing, with the intrinsic magnon linewidth representing the coherence time of a quantum resonator. Our measurement system consists of a yttrium iron garnet (YIG) sphere and a three-dimensional (3D) microwave cavity at temperatures and excitation powers typical for superconducting quantum circuit experiments. We perform spectroscopic measurements to determine the limiting factor of magnon coherence at these experimental conditions. Using the input-o…

Single device offset-free magnetic field sensing principle with tunable sensitivity and linear range based on spin-orbit-torques

We propose a novel device concept using spin-orbit-torques to realize a magnetic field sensor, where we eliminate the sensor offset using a differential measurement concept. We derive a simple analytical formulation for the sensor signal and demonstrate its validity with numerical investigations using macrospin simulations. The sensitivity and the measurable linear sensing range in the proposed concept can be tuned by either varying the effective magnetic anisotropy or by varying the magnitude of the injected currents. We show that undesired perturbation fields normal to the sensitive direction preserve the zero-offset property and only slightly modulate the sensitivity of the proposed sens…

Importance of spin current generation and detection by spin injection and the spin Hall effect for lateral spin valve performance.

Lateral spin valves are attractive device geometries where functional spin currents can be generated and detected by various mechanisms, such as spin injection and the direct and the inverse spin Hall effect. To understand the mechanisms behind these effects better, as well as their potential for application in devices, we combine multiple mechanisms in multi-terminal Pt-Py-Cu lateral spin valves: we generate pure spin currents in the copper spin conduit both via the spin Hall effect in platinum and electric spin injection from permalloy and detect signals both via conventional non-local detection and via the inverse spin Hall effect in the same device at variable temperatures. Differences …

Accurate calculation of the transverse anisotropy in perpendicularly magnetized multilayers

The transverse anisotropy constant and the related D\"oring mass density are key parameters of the one-dimensional model to describe the motion of magnetic domain walls. So far, no general framework is available to determine these quantities from static characterizations such as magnetometry measurements. Here, we derive a universal analytical expression to calculate the transverse anisotropy constant for the important class of perpendicular magnetic multilayers. All the required input parameters of the model, such as the number of repeats, the thickness of a single magnetic layer, and the layer periodicity, as well as the effective perpendicular anisotropy, the saturation magnetization, an…

Conductance control at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3-interface by a multiferroic BiFeO3 ad-layer

Multilayered BiFeO3 (BFO)/LaAlO3 (LAO) thin film samples were fabricated on SrTiO3 (STO) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. In this work, the ferroelectric polarization of a multiferroic BFO ad-layer on top of the quasi-two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) at the LAO/STO interface is used to manipulate the conductivity of the quasi-2DEG. By microstructuring the conductive area of the LAO/STO-interface, a four-point geometry for the measurement of the resistivity was achieved. Piezo force microscopy allows for imaging and poling the spontaneous ferroelectric polarization of the multiferroic layer. The resistance changes showed a linear dependence on the area scanned and a hysteretic behav…

Giant Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction and Room-Temperature Nanoscale Skyrmions in CoFeB/MgO Heterostructures

Magnetic skyrmions in heavy metal (HM)/CoFeB/MgO structures are of particular interest for skyrmion-based magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) devices because of their reliable generation, stability and read-out through purely electrical methods. To optimize the properties, such as stability, a strong Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) is required at room temperature. Here, using first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that giant DMI can be obtained in Ir/CoFe structures with an Fe-terminated configuration. Moreover, Brillouin light scattering measurements show that indeed Ta/Ir/Co20Fe60B20/MgO thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy exhibit a large DMI value (1.13 mJ/m2), wh…

Determination of fine magnetic structure of magnetic multilayer with quasi antiferromagnetic layer by using polarized neutron reflectivity analysis

We carried out polarized neutron reflectivity (PNR) analysis to determine the fine magnetic structure of magnetic multilayers with quasi-antiferromagnetic (quasi-AFM) layers realized by 90-deg coupling using two Co90Fe10 layers, and quantitatively evaluated the magnetization of quasi-AFM layers. Two types of samples with different buffer layers, Ru buffer and a NiFeCr buffer, were investigated and the average angles between the respective magnetization of the two Co90Fe10 layers were estimated to be +/− 39 degrees and +/− 53 degrees. In addition, less roughness was found in the NiFeCr buffer sample resulting stronger 90-deg coupling. A perfect quasi-AFM is expected to be realized by a flat …

Correlation between spin structure oscillations and domain wall velocities

Magnetic sensing and logic devices based on the motion of magnetic domain walls rely on the precise and deterministic control of the position and the velocity of individual magnetic domain walls in curved nanowires. Varying domain wall velocities have been predicted to result from intrinsic effects such as oscillating domain wall spin structure transformations and extrinsic pinning due to imperfections. Here we use direct dynamic imaging of the nanoscale spin structure that allows us for the first time to directly check these predictions. We find a new regime of oscillating domain wall motion even below the Walker breakdown correlated with periodic spin structure changes. We show that the e…

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…

Impact of electromagnetic fields and heat on spin transport signals in Y$_{3}$Fe$_{5}$O$_{12}$

Exploring new strategies to perform magnon logic is a key requirement for the further development of magnon-based spintronics. In this work, we realize a three-terminal magnon transport device to study the possibility of manipulating magnonic spin information transfer in a magnetic insulator via localized magnetic fields and heat generation. The device comprises two parallel Pt wires as well as a Cu center wire that are deposited on the ferrimagnetic insulator Y$_{3}$Fe$_{5}$O$_{12}$. While the Pt wires act as spin current injector and detector, the Cu wire is used to create local magnetostatic fields and additional heat, which impact both the magnetic configuration and the magnons within t…

Imaging Spin Dynamics on the Nanoscale Using X-Ray Microscopy

The dynamics of emergent magnetic quasiparticles, such as vortices, domain walls and bubbles are studied by scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM), combining magnetic (XMCD) contrast with about 25 nm lateral resolution as well as 70 ps time resolution. Essential progress in the understanding of magnetic vortex dynamics is achieved by vortex core reversal observed by sub-GHz excitation of the vortex gyromode, either by ac magnetic fields or spin transfer torque. The basic switching scheme for this vortex core reversal is the generation of a vortex-antivortex pair. Much faster vortex core reversal is obtained by exciting azimuthal spin wave modes with (multi-GHz) rotating magnetic fiel…

Large Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and room-temperature nanoscale skyrmions in CoFeB/MgO heterostructures

Summary Magnetic skyrmions in heavy metal (HM)/CoFeB/MgO structures are of particular interest for skyrmion-based magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) devices because of their reliable generation, stability, and readout through purely electrical methods. To optimize the properties, such as stability, a strong Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) is required at room temperature. Here, using first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that huge DMI can be obtained in Ir/CoFe structures with an Fe-terminated configuration. Moreover, Brillouin light-scattering measurements show that indeed Ta/Ir/Co20Fe60B20/MgO thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy exhibit a large DMI value (1.13 mJ/…

Terahertz spectroscopy for all-optical spintronic characterization of the spin-Hall-effect metals Pt, W and Cu80Ir20

Identifying materials with an efficient spin-to-charge conversion is crucial for future spintronic applications. In this respect, the spin Hall effect is a central mechanism as it allows for the interconversion of spin and charge currents. Spintronic material research aims at maximizing its efficiency, quantified by the spin Hall angle and the spin-current relaxation length . We develop an all-optical contact-free method with large sample throughput that allows us to extract and . Employing terahertz spectroscopy and an analytical model, magnetic metallic heterostructures involving Pt, W and Cu80Ir20 are characterized in terms of their optical and spintronic properties. The validity of our …

Impact of nitrogen doping on the band structure and the charge carrier scattering in monolayer graphene

The addition of nitrogen as a dopant in monolayer graphene is a flexible approach to tune the electronic properties of graphene as required for applications. Here, we investigate the impact of the doping process that adds N dopants and defects on the key electronic properties, such as the mobility, the effective mass, the Berry phase, and the scattering times of the charge carriers. Measurements at low temperatures and magnetic fields up to 9 T show a decrease of the mobility with increasing defect density due to elastic, short-range scattering. At low magnetic fields weak localization indicates an inelastic contribution depending on both defects and dopants. Analysis of the effective mass …

Tuning the Magnetic Properties of Carbon by Nitrogen Doping of Its Graphene Domains

Here we present the formation of predominantly sp-coordinate carbon with magnetic- and heteroatom-induced structural defects in a graphene lattice by a stoichiometric dehalogenation of perchlorinated (hetero)aromatic precursors [hexachlorobenzene, CCl (HCB), and pentachloropyridine, NCCl (PCP)] with transition metals such as copper in a combustion synthesis. This route allows the build-up of a carbon lattice by a chemistry free of hydrogen and oxygen compared to other pyrolytic approaches and yields either nitrogen-doped or -undoped graphene domains depending on the precursor. The resulting carbon was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM…

Interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and chiral magnetic textures in a ferrimagnetic insulator

The interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) in multilayers of heavy metal and ferromagnetic metals enables the stabilization of novel chiral spin structures such as skyrmions. Magnetic insulators, on the other hand can exhibit enhanced dynamics and properties such as lower magnetic damping and therefore it is of interest to combine the properties enabled by interfacial DMI with insulating systems. Here, we demonstrate the presence of interfacial DMI in heterostructures that include insulating magnetic layers. We use a bilayer of perpendicularly magnetized insulating thulium iron garnet (TmIG) and the heavy metal platinum, and find a surprisingly strong interfacial DMI that, comb…

Direct observation of temperature dependent magnetic domain structure of the multiferroic La0.66Sr0.34MnO3/BiFeO3 bilayer system by x-ray linear dichroism- and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism-photoemission electron microscopy

Low-thickness La0.66Sr0.34MnO3 (LSMO)/BiFeO3 (BFO) thin film samples deposited on SrTiO3 were imaged by high resolution x-ray microscopy at different temperatures. The ultra-thin thickness of the top layer allows to image both the ferromagnetic domain structure of LSMO and the multiferroic domain structure of the buried BFO layer, opening a path to a direct observation of coupling at the interface on a microscopic level. By comparing the domain size and structure of the BFO and LSMO, we observed that, in contrast to LSMO single layers, LSMO/BFO multilayers show a strong temperature dependence of the ferromagnetic domain structure of the LSMO. Particularly, at 40 K, a similar domain size for…

45° sign switching of effective exchange bias due to competing anisotropies in fully epitaxial Co3FeN/MnN bilayers

We report an unusual angular-dependent exchange bias effect in ferromagnet/antiferromagnet bilayers, where both ferromagnet and antiferromagnet are epitaxially grown. Numerical model calculations predict an approximately 45° period for the sign switching of the exchange-bias field, depending on the ratio between magnetocrystalline anisotropy and exchange-coupling constant. The switching of the sign is indicative of a competition between a fourfold magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the ferromagnet and a unidirectional anisotropy field of the exchange coupling. This predicted unusual angular-dependent exchange bias and its magnetization switching process are confirmed by measurements on fully …

Erleuchtung für die Festplatte?

Correlation between spin structure oscillations and domain wall velocities (presentation video)

Magnetic sensing and logic devices based on the motion of magnetic domain walls rely on the precise and deterministic control of the position and the velocity of individual magnetic domain walls. Varying domain wall velocities have been predicted to result from intrinsic effects such as oscillating domain wall spin structure transformations and extrinsic pinning due to imperfections. We use direct dynamic imaging of the nanoscale spin structure to directly check these predictions. We find a new regime of oscillating domain wall motion even below the Walker breakdown correlated with periodic spin structure changes and we show that the extrinsic pinning from defects in the nanowire only affec…

Mechanism of electrical switching of ultra-thin CoO/Pt bilayers

We study current-induced switching of the N\'eel vector in CoO/Pt bilayers to understand the underlaying antiferromagnetic switching mechanism. Surprisingly, we find that for ultra-thin CoO/Pt bilayers electrical pulses along the same path can lead to an increase or decrease of the spin Hall magnetoresistance signal, depending on the current density of the pulse. By comparing the results of these electrical measurements to XMLD-PEEM imaging of the antiferromagnetic domain structure before and after the application of current pulses, we reveal the reorientation of the N\'eel vector in ultra-thin CoO(4 nm). This allows us to determine that even opposite resistance changes can result from a th…

Control of the coupling strength and linewidth of a cavity magnon-polariton

The full coherent control of hybridized systems such as strongly coupled cavity photon-magnon states is a crucial step to enable future information processing technologies. Thus, it is particularly interesting to engineer deliberate control mechanisms such as the full control of the coupling strength as a measure for coherent information exchange. In this work, we employ cavity resonator spectroscopy to demonstrate the complete control of the coupling strength of hybridized cavity photon-magnon states. For this, we use two driving microwave inputs which can be tuned at will. Here, only the first input couples directly to the cavity resonator photons, whilst the second tone exclusively acts …

Probing giant magnetoresistance with THz spectroscopy

We observe a giant magnetoresistance effect in CoFe/Cu-based multistack using THz time-domain spectroscopy. The magnetic field-dependent dc conductivity, electron scattering time, as well as spin-asymmetry parameter of the structure are successfully determined.

Materials for skyrmionics

Abstract In recent years, skyrmions have been found in a plethora of different materials encompassing a broad range of bulk compounds as well as a large number of thin film multilayers. Much work has been put forward to study the properties of skyrmions in these systems, especially with respect to employing them in data storage devices, for which their individual strengths and weaknesses have been carefully mapped out. This chapter provides an overview of some of the most common skyrmionics materials that have been used by the community and the properties of the resulting skyrmions. Materials hosting skyrmions are detailed starting with bulk systems as well as thin film systems and more exo…

Giant Spin Seebeck Effect through an Interface Organic Semiconductor

Interfacing an organic semiconductor C60 with a non-magnetic metallic thin film (Cu or Pt) has created a novel heterostructure that is ferromagnetic at ambient temperature, while its interface with a magnetic metal (Fe or Co) can tune the anisotropic magnetic surface property of the material. Here, we demonstrate that sandwiching C60 in between a magnetic insulator (Y3Fe5O12: YIG) and a non-magnetic, strong spin-orbit metal (Pt) promotes highly efficient spin current transport via the thermally driven spin Seebeck effect (SSE). Experiments and first principles calculations consistently show that the presence of C60 reduces significantly the conductivity mismatch between YIG and Pt and the s…

Multiscale simulations of topological transformations in magnetic-skyrmion spin structures

Magnetic Skyrmions belong to the most interesting spin structures for the development of future information technology as they have been predicted to be topologically protected. To quantify their stability, we use an innovative multiscale approach to simulating spin dynamics based on the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. The multiscale approach overcomes the micromagnetic limitations that have hindered realistic studies using conventional techniques. We first demonstrate how the stability of a Skyrmion is influenced by the refinement of the computational mesh and reveal that conventionally employed traditional micromagnetic simulations are inadequate for this task. Furthermore, we determine…

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\…

Scaling of intrinsic domain wall magneto-resistance with confinement in electromigrated nanocontacts

In this work we study the evolution of intrinsic domain wall magnetoresistance (DWMR) with domain wall confinement. Clean permalloy notched half-ring nanocontacts are fabricated using a special ultra-high vacuum electromigration procedure to tailor the size of the wire in-situ and through the resulting domain wall confinement we tailor the domain wall width from a few tens of nm down to a few nm. Through measurements of the dependence of the resistance with respect to the applied field direction we extract the contribution of a single domain wall to the MR of the device, as a function of the domain wall width in the confining potential at the notch. In this size range, an intrinsic positive…

Revealing the importance of interfaces for pure spin current transport

Spin transport phenomena underpin an extensive range of spintronic effects. In particular spin transport across interfaces occurs in most device concepts, but is so far poorly understood. As interface properties strongly impact spin transport, one needs to characterize and correlate them to the fabrication method. Here we investigate pure spin current transport across interfaces and connect this with imaging of the interfaces. We study the detection of pure spin currents via the inverse spin Hall effect in Pt and the related spin current absorption by Pt in Py-Cu-Pt lateral spin valves. Depending on the fabrication process, we either find a large (inverse) spin Hall effect signal and low sp…

Spin relaxation in Cu and Al spin conduits

We study the spin relaxation in Al and Cu spin conduits embedded in non-local spin valve nanostructures. Measuring the key spin transport properties, we determine the spin and charge diffusion constants as well as the spin flip time. By varying the temperature, we find that the maximum of the non-local spin resistance change occurs at finite temperatures with a clear difference between Al and Cu. In particular, we find that the maximum of the non-local spin signal in Al is less pronounced and occurs at lower temperatures compared to Cu suggesting that the self-passivating Al surface plays a role. Having fabricated devices with both materials in identical processes, we can attribute the diff…

Multiscale simulations of topological transformations in magnetic Skyrmions

Magnetic Skyrmions belong to the most interesting spin structures for the development of future information technology as they have been predicted to be topologically protected. To quantify their stability, we use an innovative multiscale approach to simulating spin dynamics based on the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. The multiscale approach overcomes the micromagnetic limitations that have hindered realistic studies using conventional techniques. We first demonstrate how the stability of a Skyrmion is influenced by the refinement of the computational mesh and reveal that conventionally employed traditional micromagnetic simulations are inadequate for this task. Furthermore, we determine…

Impact of pump wavelength on terahertz emission of a cavity-enhanced spintronic trilayer

We systematically study the pump-wavelength dependence of terahertz pulse generation in thin-film spintronic THz emitters composed of a ferromagnetic Fe layer between adjacent nonmagnetic W and Pt layers. We find that the efficiency of THz generation is essentially at for excitation by 150 fs pulses with center wavelengths ranging from 900 to 1500 nm, demonstrating that the spin current does not depend strongly on the pump photon energy. We show that the inclusion of dielectric overlayers of TiO2 and SiO2, designed for a particular excitation wavelength, can enhance the terahertz emission by a factor of of up to two in field.

Reversible Photochemical Control of Doping Levels in Supported Graphene

Controlling the type and density of charge carriers in graphene is vital for a wide range of applications of this material in electronics and optoelectronics. To date, chemical doping and electrostatic gating have served as the two most established means to manipulate the carrier density in graphene. Although highly effective, these two approaches require sophisticated graphene growth or complex device fabrication processes to achieve both the desired nature and the doping densities with generally limited dynamic tunability and spatial control. Here, we report a convenient and tunable optical approach to tune the steady-state carrier density and Fermi energy in graphene by photochemically c…

Modification of magnetic anisotropy in Ni thin films by poling of (011) PMN-PT piezosubstrates

ABSTRACTThis study reports the magnetic and magnetotransport properties of 20 nm thick polycrystalline Ni films deposited by magnetron sputtering on unpoled piezoelectric (011) [PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3]0.68-[PbTiO3]0.32 (PMN-PT) substrates. The magnetoresistance (MR), as well as the magnetization reversal, is found to depend on the polarization state of the piezosubstrate. Upon poling the PMN-PT substrate, which results in a transfer of strain to the Ni film, the MR value decreases by a factor of 12 at room temperature and a factor of 21 at 50 K for the current direction along the PMN-PT [100] direction, and slightly increases for the [01] current direction. Simultaneously, a strong increase in the …

Ultrafast Optical Demagnetization manipulates Nanoscale Spin Structure in Domain Walls

During ultrafast demagnetization of a magnetically ordered solid, angular momentum has to be transferred between the spins, electrons, and phonons in the system on femto- and picosecond timescales. Although the intrinsic spin-transfer mechanisms are intensely debated, additional extrinsic mechanisms arising due to nanoscale heterogeneity have only recently entered the discussion. Here we use femtosecond X-ray pulses from a free-electron laser to study thin film samples with magnetic domain patterns. We observe an infrared-pump-induced change of the spin structure within the domain walls on the sub-picosecond timescale. This domain-topography-dependent contribution connects the intrinsic dem…

Exchange bias in epitaxial Mn2Au (0 0 1)/Fe (0 0 1) bilayers

High quality epitaxial Mn 2 Au (001) thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

The recently discovered phenomenon of Neel spin–orbit torque in antiferromagnetic Mn2Au [Bodnar et al., Nat. Commun. 9, 348 (2018); Meinert et al., Phys. Rev. Appl. 9, 064040 (2018); Bodnar et al., Phys. Rev. B 99, 140409(R) (2019)] has generated huge interest in this material for spintronics applications. In this paper, we report the preparation and characterization of high quality Mn2Au thin films by molecular beam epitaxy and compare them with magnetron sputtered samples. The films were characterized for their structural and morphological properties using reflective high-energy electron diffraction, x-ray diffraction, x-ray reflectometry, atomic force microscopy, and temperature dependen…

Evidence for phonon skew scattering in the spin Hall effect of platinum

We measure and analyze the effective spin Hall angle of platinum in the low-residual resistivity regime by second-harmonic measurements of the spin-orbit torques for a multilayer of $\mathrm{Pt}|\mathrm{Co}|{\mathrm{AlO}}_{x}$. An angular-dependent study of the torques allows us to extract the effective spin Hall angle responsible for the damping-like torque in the system. We observe a strikingly nonmonotonic and reproducible temperature dependence of the torques. This behavior is compatible with recent theoretical predictions which include both intrinsic and extrinsic (impurities and phonons) contributions to the spin Hall effect at finite temperatures.

Introducing coherent time control to cavity magnon-polariton modes

By connecting light to magnetism, cavity-magnon-polaritons (CMPs) can build links from quantum computation to spintronics. As a consequence, CMP-based information processing devices have thrived over the last five years, but almost exclusively been investigated with single-tone spectroscopy. However, universal computing applications will require a dynamic control of the CMP on demand and within nanoseconds. In this work, we perform fast manipulations of the different CMP modes with independent but coherent pulses to the cavity and magnon system. We change the state of the CMP from the energy exchanging beat mode to its normal modes and further demonstrate two fundamental examples of coheren…

Domain wall transformations and hopping in La0.7Sr0.3MnO3nanostructures imaged with high resolution x-ray magnetic microscopy

We investigate the effect of electric current pulse injection on domain walls in La(0.7)Sr(0.3)MnO(3) (LSMO) half-ring nanostructures by high resolution x-ray magnetic microscopy at room temperature. Due to the easily accessible Curie temperature of LSMO, we can employ reasonable current densities to induce the Joule heating necessary to observe effects such as hopping of the domain walls between different pinning sites and nucleation/annihilation events. Such effects are the dominant features close to the Curie temperature, while spin torque is found to play a small role close to room temperature. We are also able to observe thermally activated domain wall transformations and we find that,…

Engineering the dynamics of topological spin textures by anisotropic spin-orbit torques

Integrating topologically stabilized magnetic textures such as skyrmions as nanoscale information carriers into future technologies requires the reliable control by electric currents. Here, we uncover that the relevant skyrmion Hall effect, which describes the deflection of moving skyrmions from the current flow direction, acquires important corrections owing to anisotropic spin-orbit torques that alter the dynamics of topological spin structures. Thereby, we propose a viable means for manipulating the current-induced motion of skyrmions and antiskyrmions. Based on these insights, we demonstrate by first-principles calculations and symmetry arguments that the motion of spin textures can be …

Direct observation of half-metallicity in the Heusler compound $Co_{2}MnSi$

Ferromagnetic thin films of Heusler compounds are highly relevant for spintronic applications owing to their predicted half-metallicity, that is, 100% spin polarization at the Fermi energy. However, experimental evidence for this property is scarce. Here we investigate epitaxial thin films of the compound Co2MnSi in situ by ultraviolet-photoemission spectroscopy, taking advantage of a novel multi-channel spin filter. By this surface sensitive method, an exceptionally large spin polarization of () % at room temperature is observed directly. As a more bulk sensitive method, additional ex situ spin-integrated high energy X-ray photoemission spectroscopy experiments are performed. All experimen…

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…

Identifying the origin of the nonmonotonic thickness dependence of spin-orbit torque and interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in a ferrimagnetic insulator heterostructure

Electrical manipulation of magnetism via spin-orbit torques (SOTs) promises efficient spintronic devices. In systems comprising magnetic insulators and heavy metals, SOTs have started to be investigated only recently, especially in systems with interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (iDMI). Here, we quantitatively study the SOT efficiency and iDMI in a series of gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG) / thulium iron garnet (TmIG) / platinum (Pt) heterostructures with varying TmIG and Pt thicknesses. We find that the non-monotonic SOT efficiency as a function of the magnetic layer thickness is not consistent with the 1/thickness dependence expected from a simple interfacial SOT mechanism. Mor…

Magnetic Skyrmions: Current-Induced Skyrmion Generation through Morphological Thermal Transitions in Chiral Ferromagnetic Heterostructures (Adv. Mater. 49/2018)

Orientation-dependent direct and inverse spin Hall effects in Co 60 Fe 20 B 20

Efficient spin torques in antiferromagnetic CoO/Pt quantified by comparing field- and current- induced switching

Comment: 16 pages (manuscript and supplementary), 12 figures

Direct Imaging of Chiral Domain Walls and Néel‐Type Skyrmionium in Ferrimagnetic Alloys

International audience; The evolution of chiral spin structures is studied in ferrimagnet Ta/Ir/Fe/GdFeCo/Pt multilayers as a function of temperature using scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis (SEMPA). The GdFeCo ferrimagnet exhibits pure right-hand Néel-type domain wall (DW) spin textures over a large temperature range. This indicates the presence of a negative Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) that can originate from both the top Fe/Pt and the Co/Pt interfaces. From measurements of the DW width, as well as complementary magnetic characterization, the exchange stiffness as a function of temperature is ascertained. The exchange stiffness is surprisingly mostly const…

A magnetic skyrmion as a non-linear resistive element - a potential building block for reservoir computing

Inspired by the human brain, there is a strong effort to find alternative models of information processing capable of imitating the high energy efficiency of neuromorphic information processing. One possible realization of cognitive computing are reservoir computing networks. These networks are built out of non-linear resistive elements which are recursively connected. We propose that a skyrmion network embedded in frustrated magnetic films may provide a suitable physical implementation for reservoir computing applications. The significant key ingredient of such a network is a two-terminal device with non-linear voltage characteristics originating from single-layer magnetoresistive effects,…

Coupling of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic spin dynamics in Mn$_{2}$Au/NiFe thin-film bilayers

We investigate magnetization dynamics of Mn$_{2}$Au/Py (Ni$_{80}$Fe$_{20}$) thin film bilayers using broadband ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) and Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy. Our bilayers exhibit two resonant modes with zero-field frequencies up to almost 40 GHz, far above the single-layer Py FMR. Our model calculations attribute these modes to the coupling of the Py FMR and the two antiferromagnetic resonance (AFMR) modes of Mn2Au. The coupling-strength is in the order of 1.6 T$\cdot$nm at room temperature for nm-thick Py. Our model reveals the dependence of the hybrid modes on the AFMR frequencies and interfacial coupling as well as the evanescent character of the spin waves th…

Photoswitchable Micro-Supercapacitor Based on a Diarylethene-Graphene Composite Film

Stimuli-responsive micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) controlled by external stimuli can enable a wide range of applications for future on-chip energy storage. Here, we report on a photoswitchable MSC based on a diarylethene-graphene composite film. The microdevice delivers an outstanding and reversible capacitance modulation of up to 20%, demonstrating a prototype photoswitchable MSC. Terahertz spectroscopy indicates that the photoswitching of the capacitance is enabled by the reversible tuning of interfacial charge injection into diarylethene molecular orbitals, as a consequence of charge transfer at the diarylethene-graphene interface upon light modulation.

Magnon detection using a ferroic collinear multilayer spin valve

Information transport and processing by pure magnonic spin currents in insulators is a promising alternative to conventional charge-current-driven spintronic devices. The absence of Joule heating and reduced spin wave damping in insulating ferromagnets have been suggested for implementing efficient logic devices. After the successful demonstration of a majority gate based on the superposition of spin waves, further components are required to perform complex logic operations. Here, we report on magnetization orientation-dependent spin current detection signals in collinear magnetic multilayers inspired by the functionality of a conventional spin valve. In Y3Fe5O12|CoO|Co, we find that the de…

The challenge in realizing an exchange coupled BiFeO3-double perovskite bilayer

Abstract In this work we propose a device design for efficient voltage control of magnetism. The magnetization of a ferrimagnetic double perovskite may be manipulated by an exchange coupled layer of multiferroic BiFeO3. Bilayers of Barium doped BiFeO3 and ferrimagnetic double perovskite Sr2FeMoO6 have been prepared by pulsed laser deposition motivated by the possibility of strong interlayer exchange coupling. While single layers of each material show high quality we observe that in both stacking orders the first layer decomposes during the deposition of the second layer. The reason for the decomposition are strongly differing growth conditions for BiFeO3 and Sr2FeMoO6. This means that the g…

Energy- and k -resolved mapping of the magnetic circular dichroism in threshold photoemission from Co films on Pt(111)

The magnetic circular dichroism in threshold photoemission (TPMCD) for perpendicularly magnetized fcc Co films on Pt(111) has been revisited. A complete mapping of the spectral function $I({E}_{B},{k}_{x},{k}_{y})$ (binding energy ${E}_{B}$, momentum parallel to surface ${k}_{x}$, ${k}_{y}$) and the corresponding TPMCD asymmetry distribution ${A}_{\mathrm{MCD}}({E}_{B},{k}_{x},{k}_{y})$ has been performed for one-photon and two-photon photoemission using time-of-flight momentum microscopy. The experimental results allow distinguishing direct from indirect transitions. The measurements reveal clear band features of direct transitions from bulk bands that show a nontrivial asymmetry pattern. …

Angular dependence of the domain wall depinning field in the sensors with segmented corners

Rotating domain wall based sensors that have recently been developed are based on a segmented looping geometry. In order to determine the crucial pinning of domain walls in this special geometry, we investigate the depinning under different angles of an applied magnetic field and obtain the angular dependence of the depinning field of the domain walls. Due to the geometry, the depinning field not only exhibits a 180$^\circ$-periodicity but a more complex dependence on the angle. The depinning field depends on two different angles associated with the initial state and the segmented geometry of the corner. We find that depending on the angle of the applied field two different switching proces…

Modification of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya-Interaction-Stabilized Domain Wall Chirality by Driving Currents

We measure and analyze the chirality of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya-interaction (DMI) stabilized spin textures in multilayers of $\mathrm{Ta}|{\mathrm{Co}}_{20}{\mathrm{F}}_{60}{\mathrm{B}}_{20}|\mathrm{MgO}$. The effective DMI is measured experimentally using domain wall motion measurements, both in the presence (using spin-orbit torques) and absence of driving currents (using magnetic fields). We observe that the current-induced domain wall motion yields a change in effective DMI magnitude and opposite domain wall chirality when compared to field-induced domain wall motion (without current). We explore this effect, which we refer to as current-induced DMI, by providing possible explanations for…

Enhancing domain wall velocity through interface intermixing in W-CoFeB-MgO films with perpendicular anisotropy

We study the influence of He+ irradiation induced interface intermixing on magnetic domain wall (DW) dynamics in W-CoFeB (0.6 nm)-MgO ultrathin films, which exhibit high perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and large Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) values. Whereas the pristine films exhibit strong DW pinning, we observe a large increase in the DW velocity in the creep regime upon He+ irradiation, which is attributed to the reduction of pinning centers induced by interface intermixing. Asymmetric in-plane field-driven domain expansion experiments show that the DMI value is slightly reduced upon irradiation, and a direct relationship between DMI and interface anisotropy is demonstrated. …

Identification of Néel vector orientation in antiferromagnetic domains switched by currents in NiO/Pt thin films

Understanding the electrical manipulation of antiferromagnetic order is a crucial aspect to enable the design of antiferromagnetic devices working at THz frequency. Focusing on collinear insulating antiferromagnetic NiO/Pt thin films as a materials platform, we identify the crystallographic orientation of the domains that can be switched by currents and quantify the N\'eel vector direction changes. We demonstrate electrical switching between different T-domains by current pulses, finding that the N\'eel vector orientation in these domains is along $[\pm5\ \pm5\ 19]$, different compared to the bulk $$ directions. The final state of the N\'eel vector $\textbf{n}$ switching after current pulse…

Origin of the spin Seebeck effect in compensated ferrimagnets

Magnons are the elementary excitations of a magnetically ordered system. In ferromagnets, only a single band of low-energy magnons needs to be considered, but in ferrimagnets the situation is more complex owing to different magnetic sublattices involved. In this case, low lying optical modes exist that can affect the dynamical response. Here we show that the spin Seebeck effect (SSE) is sensitive to the complexities of the magnon spectrum. The SSE is caused by thermally excited spin dynamics that are converted to a voltage by the inverse spin Hall effect at the interface to a heavy metal contact. By investigating the temperature dependence of the SSE in the ferrimagnet gadolinium iron garne…

Geometrical control of pure spin current induced domain wall depinning.

[EN] We investigate the pure spin-current assisted depinning of magnetic domain walls in half ring based Py/Al lateral spin valve structures. Our optimized geometry incorporating a patterned notch in the detector electrode, directly below the Al spin conduit, provides a tailored pinning potential for a transverse domain wall and allows for a precise control over the magnetization configuration and as a result the domain wall pinning. Due to the patterned notch, we are able to study the depinning field as a function of the applied external field for certain applied current densities and observe a clear asymmetry for the two opposite field directions. Micromagnetic simulations show that this …

Automatable sample fabrication process for pump-probe X-ray holographic imaging

Soft X-ray holography is a recently developed imaging technique with sub-50 nm spatial resolution. Key advantages of this technique are magnetic and elemental sensitivity, compatibility with imaging at free electron laser facilities, and immunity to in-situ sample excitations and sample drift, which enables the reliable detection of relative changes between two images with a precision of a few nanometers. In X-ray holography, the main part of the experimental setup is integrated in the sample, which consequently requires a large number of fabrication steps. Here we present a generic design and an automatable fabrication process for samples suitable, and optimized for, efficient high resolut…

Switching by Domain-Wall Automotion in Asymmetric Ferromagnetic Rings

A ring-shaped magnetic logic device offers two vortex states (clockwise and counterclockwise) to encode bits, with relative stability against external magnetic fields. The dynamics of magnetization switching in such structures, though, still need unraveling. The authors present direct experimental visualization of reproducible, robust switching in magnetic rings via domain-wall automotion, which does not require an applied field. Simulations reveal that annihilation of domain walls through automotion always occurs, with the detailed topology of the walls only influencing the dynamics locally, in line with the experimental results.

Current-Induced Skyrmion Generation through Morphological Thermal Transitions in Chiral Ferromagnetic Heterostructures.

© 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Magnetic skyrmions promise breakthroughs in future memory and computing devices due to their inherent stability and small size. Their creation and current driven motion have been recently observed at room temperature, but the key mechanisms of their formation are not yet well-understood. Here it is shown that in heavy metal/ferromagnet heterostructures, pulsed currents can drive morphological transitions between labyrinth-like, stripe-like, and skyrmionic states. Using high-resolution X-ray microscopy, the spin texture evolution with temperature and magnetic field is imaged and it is demonstrated that with transient Joule heating, topologica…

Tunable long-distance spin transport in a crystalline antiferromagnetic iron oxide.

Spintronics relies on the transport of spins, the intrinsic angular momentum of electrons, as an alternative to the transport of electron charge as in conventional electronics. The long-term goal of spintronics research is to develop spin-based, low-dissipation computing-technology devices. Recently, long-distance transport of a spin current was demonstrated across ferromagnetic insulators1. However, antiferromagnetically ordered materials, the most common class of magnetic materials, have several crucial advantages over ferromagnetic systems for spintronics applications2: antiferromagnets have no net magnetic moment, making them stable and impervious to external fields, and can be operated…

Direct imaging of current-induced antiferromagnetic switching revealing a pure thermomagnetoelastic switching mechanism in NiO

We unambiguously identify the origin of the current-induced magnetic switching of insulating antiferromagnet/heavy metal bilayers. Previously, different reorientations of the Neel order for the same current direction were reported for different device geometries and different switching mechanisms were proposed. Here, we combine concurrent electrical readout and optical imaging of the switching of antiferromagnetic domains with simulations of the current-induced temperature and strain gradients. By comparing the switching in specially engineered NiO/Pt device and pulsing geometries, we can rule out spin-orbit torque based mechanisms and identify a thermomagnetoelastic mechanism to dominate t…

Influence of thickness and interface on the low-temperature enhancement of the spin Seebeck effect in YIG films

The temperature-dependent longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE) in heavy metal (HM)/Y_{3}Fe_{5}O_{12} (YIG) hybrid structures is investigated as a function of YIG film thickness, magnetic field strength, and different HM detection materials. The LSSE signal shows a large enhancement with reductions in temperature, leading to a pronounced peak at low temperatures. We find that the LSSE peak temperature strongly depends on the film thickness as well as on the magnetic field. Our result can be well explained in the framework of magnon-driven LSSE by taking into account the temperature-dependent effective propagation length of thermally excited magnons in the bulk of the material. We further …

Impact of electromagnetic fields and heat on spin transport signals in Y3Fe5O12

Exploring new strategies to perform magnon logic is a key requirement for the further development of magnon-based spintronics. In this paper, we realize a three-terminal magnon transport device to study the possibility of manipulating magnonic spin information transfer in a magnetic insulator via localized magnetic fields and heat generation. The device comprises two parallel Pt wires as well as a Cu center wire that are deposited on the ferrimagnetic insulator ${\mathrm{Y}}_{3}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$. While the Pt wires act as spin current injector and detector, the Cu wire is used to create local magnetostatic fields and additional heat, which impact both the magnetic configur…

Piezo-electrical control of gyration dynamics of magnetic vortices

In this work, we first statically image the electrically controlled magnetostatic configuration of magnetic vortex states and then we dynamically image the time-resolved vortex core gyration tuned by electric fields. We demonstrate the manipulation of the vortex core gyration orbit by engineering the magnetic anisotropies. We achieve this by electric fields in a synthetic heterostructure consisting of a piezoelement coupled with magnetostrictive microstructures, where the magnetic anisotropy can be controlled by strain. We directly show the strong impact of the tailored anisotropy on the static shape of the vortex state and the dynamic vortex core orbit. The results demonstrate the possibil…

Mechanism of Néel Order Switching in Antiferromagnetic Thin Films Revealed by Magnetotransport and Direct Imaging.

We probe the current-induced magnetic switching of insulating antiferromagnet/heavy metals systems, by electrical spin Hall magnetoresistance measurements and direct imaging, identifying a reversal occurring by domain wall (DW) motion. We observe switching of more than one third of the antiferromagnetic domains by the application of current pulses. Our data reveal two different magnetic switching mechanisms leading together to an efficient switching, namely the spin-current induced effective magnetic anisotropy variation and the action of the spin torque on the DWs.

Spin–orbit torque driven multi-level switching in He + irradiated W–CoFeB–MgO Hall bars with perpendicular anisotropy

We have investigated the spin–orbit torque-driven magnetization switching in W/CoFeB/MgO Hall bars with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. He+ ion irradiation through a mask has been used to reduce locally the effective perpendicular anisotropy at a Hall cross. Anomalous Hall effect measurements combined with Kerr microscopy indicate that the switching process is dominated by domain wall (DW) nucleation in the irradiated region followed by rapid domain propagation at a current density as low as 0.8 MA/cm2 with an assisting in-plane magnetic field. Thanks to the implemented strong pinning of the DW at the transition between the irradiated and the non-irradiated region, an intermediate Hall r…

Faster chiral versus collinear magnetic order recovery after optical excitation revealed by femtosecond XUV scattering

While chiral spin structures stabilized by Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) are candidates as novel information carriers, their dynamics on the fs-ps timescale is little known. Since with the bulk Heisenberg exchange and the interfacial DMI two distinct exchange mechanisms are at play, the ultra-fast dynamics of the chiral order needs to be ascertained and compared to the dynamics of the conventional collinear order. Using an XUV free-electron laser we determine the fs-ps temporal evolution of the chiral order in domain walls in a magnetic thin film sample by an IR pump - X-ray magnetic scattering probe experiment. Upon demagnetisation we observe that the dichroic (CL-CR) signal conn…

Quasi-antiferromagnetic multilayer stacks with 90 degree coupling mediated by thin Fe oxide spacers

We fabricated quasiantiferromagnetic (quasi-AFM) layers with alternating antiparallel magnetization in the neighboring domains via 90° magnetic coupling through an Fe-O layer. We investigated the magnetic properties and the relationship between the magnetic domain size and the 90° magnetic coupling via experiments and calculations. Two types of samples with a Ru buffer and a (Ni80Fe20)Cr40 buffer were prepared, and we found that with the NiFeCr buffer, the sample has a flatter Fe-O layer, leading to stronger 90° magnetic coupling and a smaller domain size compared with the Ru buffer sample. This trend is well explained by the bilinear and biquadratic coupling coefficients, A12 and B12, in L…

Optical read-out of the N\'eel vector in metallic antiferromagnet Mn$_{2}$Au

Metallic antiferromagnets with broken inversion symmetry on the two sublattices, strong spin-orbit coupling and high N\'{e}el temperatures offer new opportunities for applications in spintronics. Especially Mn$_{2}$Au, with high N\'{e}el temperature and conductivity, is particularly interesting for real-world applications. Here, manipulation of the orientation of the staggered magnetization,\textit{\ i.e.} the N\'{e}el vector, by current pulses has been recently demonstrated, with the read-out limited to studies of anisotropic magnetoresistance or X-ray magnetic linear dichroism. Here, we report on the in-plane reflectivity anisotropy of Mn$_{2}$Au (001) films, which were N\'{e}el vector al…

Double resonance response in nonlinear magnetic vortex dynamics

We present experimental evidences for the dynamical bifurcation behavior of ac-driven magnetic vortex core gyration in a ferromagnetic disk. The dynamical bifurcation, i.e., appearance and disappearance of two stable dynamical states in the vortex gyration, occurring as the amplitude of the driving Oersted field increases to ${B}_{Oe}g{B}_{Oe}^{cr}$, manifests itself in a double resonance response in the dependence of homodyne the dc-voltage signal on the frequency $\ensuremath{\omega}$ of the applied microwave current. We find that the frequency range $\ensuremath{\delta}\ensuremath{\omega}$ between the two resonance features strongly increases with the excitation power. Our analysis based…

Reconstruction of an effective magnon mean free path distribution from spin Seebeck measurements in thin films

A thorough understanding of the mean-free-path (MFP) distribution of the energy carriers is crucial to engineer and tune the transport properties of materials. In this context, a significant body of work has investigated the phonon and electron MFP distribution, however, similar studies of the magnon MFP distribution have not been carried out so far. In this work, we used thickness-dependence measurements of the longitudinal spin Seebeck (LSSE) effect of yttrium iron garnet films to reconstruct the cumulative distribution of a SSE related effective magnon MFP. By using the experimental data reported by Guo et al. [Phys. Rev. X 6, 031012 (2016)], we adapted the phonon MFP reconstruction algo…

Measurements of ultrafast spin-profiles and spin-diffusion properties in the domain wall area at a metal/ferromagnetic film interface

AbstractExciting a ferromagnetic material with an ultrashort IR laser pulse is known to induce spin dynamics by heating the spin system and by ultrafast spin diffusion processes. Here, we report on measurements of spin-profiles and spin diffusion properties in the vicinity of domain walls in the interface region between a metallic Al layer and a ferromagnetic Co/Pd thin film upon IR excitation. We followed the ultrafast temporal evolution by means of an ultrafast resonant magnetic scattering experiment in surface scattering geometry, which enables us to exploit the evolution of the domain network within a 1/e distance of 3 nm to 5 nm from the Al/FM film interface. We observe a magnetization…

Propagation Length of Antiferromagnetic Magnons Governed by Domain Configurations.

Spintronics seeks to functionalize antiferromagnetic materials to develop memory and logic devices operating at terahertz speed and robust against external magnetic field perturbations. To be useful, such functionality needs to be developed in thin film devices. The key functionality of long-distance spin-transport has, however, so far only been reported in bulk single crystal antiferromagnets, while in thin films, transport has so far been limited to a few nanometers. In this work, we electrically achieve a long-distance propagation of spin-information in thin films of the insulating antiferromagnet hematite. Through transport and magnetic imaging, we demonstrate a strong correlation betwe…

An insulating doped antiferromagnet with low magnetic symmetry as a room temperature spin conduit

We report room temperature long-distance spin transport of magnons in antiferromagnetic thin film hematite doped with Zn. The additional dopants significantly alter the magnetic anisotropies, resulting in a complex equilibrium spin structure that is capable of efficiently transporting spin angular momentum at room temperature without the need for a well-defined, pure easy-axis or easy-plane anisotropy. We find intrinsic magnon spin-diffusion lengths of up to 1.5 {\mu}m, and magnetic domain governed decay lengths of 175 nm for the low frequency magnons, through electrical transport measurements demonstrating that the introduction of non-magnetic dopants does not strongly reduce the transport…

Electrical detection of the spin reorientation transition in antiferromagnetic TmFeO3 thin films by spin Hall magnetoresistance

TmFeO$_3$ (TFO) is a canted antiferromagnet that undergoes a spin reorientation transition (SRT) with temperature between 82 K and 94 K in single crystals. In this temperature region, the N\'eel vector continuously rotates from the crystallographic $c$-axis (below 82 K) to the $a$-axis (above 94 K). The SRT allows for a temperature control of distinct antiferromagnetic states without the need for a magnetic field, making it apt for applications working at THz frequencies. For device applications, thin films of TFO are required as well as an electrical technique for reading out the magnetic state. Here we demonstrate that orthorhombic TFO thin films can be grown by pulsed laser deposition an…

Charge transport mechanism in networks of armchair graphene nanoribbons

In graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), the lateral confinement of charge carriers opens a band gap, the key feature to enable novel graphene-based electronics. Successful synthesis of GNRs has triggered efforts to realize field-effect transistors (FETs) based on single ribbons. Despite great progress, reliable and reproducible fabrication of single-ribbon FETs is still a challenge that impedes applications and the understanding of the charge transport. Here, we present reproducible fabrication of armchair GNR-FETs based on a network of nanoribbons and analyze the charge transport mechanism using nine-atom wide and, in particular, five-atom-wide GNRs with unprecedented conductivity. We show formati…

Probing ultrafast changes of spin and charge density profiles with resonant XUV magnetic reflectivity at the free-electron laser FERMI

We report the results of resonant magnetic XUV reflectivity experiments performed at the XUV free-electron laser FERMI. Circularly polarized XUV light with the photon energy tuned to the Fe M2,3 edge is used to measure resonant magnetic reflectivities and the corresponding Q-resolved asymmetry of a Permalloy/Ta/Permalloy trilayer film. The asymmetry exhibits ultrafast changes on 240 fs time scales upon pumping with ultrashort IR laser pulses. Depending on the value of the wavevector transfer Qz, we observe both decreasing and increasing values of the asymmetry parameter, which is attributed to ultrafast changes in the vertical spin and charge density profiles of the trilayer film.

Nanoscale subsurface dynamics of solids upon high-intensity laser irradiation observed by femtosecond grazing-incidence x-ray scattering

Observing ultrafast laser-induced structural changes in nanoscale systems is essential for understanding the dynamics of intense light-matter interactions. For laser intensities on the order of $10^{14} \, \rm W/cm^2$, highly-collisional plasmas are generated at and below the surface. Subsequent transport processes such as heat conduction, electron-ion thermalization, surface ablation and resolidification occur at picosecond and nanosecond time scales. Imaging methods, e.g. using x-ray free-electron lasers (XFEL), were hitherto unable to measure the depth-resolved subsurface dynamics of laser-solid interactions with appropriate temporal and spatial resolution. Here we demonstrate picosecond…

Electric-Field Control of Spin-Orbit Torques in Perpendicularly Magnetized W/CoFeB/MgO Films

Controlling magnetism by electric fields offers a highly attractive perspective for designing future generations of energy-efficient information technologies. Here, we demonstrate that the magnitude of current-induced spin-orbit torques in thin perpendicularly magnetized CoFeB films can be tuned and even increased by electric-field generated piezoelectric strain. Using theoretical calculations, we uncover that the subtle interplay of spin-orbit coupling, crystal symmetry, and orbital polarization is at the core of the observed strain dependence of spin-orbit torques. Our results open a path to integrating two energy efficient spin manipulation approaches, the electric-field-induced strain a…

Surface resonance of thin films of the Heusler half-metal Co2MnSi probed by soft x-ray angular resolved photoemission spectroscopy

Heusler compounds are promising materials for spintronics with adjustable electronic properties including 100% spin polarization at the Fermi energy. We investigate the electronic states of AlOx capped epitaxial thin films of the ferromagnetic half-metal Co2MnSi ex situ by soft x-ray angular resolved photoemission spectroscopy (SX-ARPES). Good agreement between the experimental SX-ARPES results and photoemission calculations including surface effects was obtained. In particular, we observed in line with our calculations a large photoemission intensity at the center of the Brillouin zone, which does not originate from bulk states, but from a surface resonance. This provides strong evidence f…

Circuits and excitations to enable Brownian token-based computing with skyrmions

Brownian computing exploits thermal motion of discrete signal carriers (tokens) for computations. In this paper we address two major challenges that hinder competitive realizations of circuits and application of Brownian token-based computing in actual devices for instance based on magnetic skyrmions. To overcome the problem that crossings generate for the fabrication of circuits, we design a crossing-free layout for a composite half-adder module. This layout greatly simplifies experimental implementations as wire crossings are effectively avoided. Additionally, our design is shorter to speed up computations compared to conventional designs. To address the key issue of slow computation base…

Spin structure and spin Hall magnetoresistance of epitaxial thin films of the insulating non-collinear antiferromagnet SmFeO3

We report a combined study of imaging the antiferromagnetic (AFM) spin structure and measuring the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in epitaxial thin films of the insulating non-collinear antiferromagnet SmFeO$_3$. X-ray magnetic linear dichroism photoemission electron microscopy measurements reveal that the AFM spins of the SmFeO$_3$(110) align in the plane of the film. Angularly dependent magnetoresistance measurements show that SmFeO$_3$/Ta bilayers exhibit a positive SMR, in contrast to the negative SMR expected in previously studied collinear AFMs. The SMR amplitude increases linearly with increasing external magnetic field at higher magnetic field, suggesting that field-induced canti…

Role of spin diffusion in current-induced domain wall motion for disordered ferromagnets

Current-induced spin transfer torque and magnetization dynamics in the presence of spin diffusion in disordered magnetic textures is studied theoretically. We demonstrate using tight-binding calculations that weak, spinconserving impurity scattering dramatically enhances the nonadiabaticity. To further explore this mechanism, a phenomenological drift-diffusion model for incoherent spin transport is investigated. We show that incoherent spin diffusion indeed produces an additional spatially dependent torque of the form ∼∇ 2 [m × (u · ∇)m] + ξ ∇ 2 [(u · ∇)m], where m is the local magnetization direction, u is the direction of injected current, and ξ is a parameter characterizing the spin dyna…

Dimensional Confinement in Carbon-based Structures - From 3D to 1D

We present an overview of charge transport in selected one-, two- and three-dimensional carbon-based materials with exciting properties. The systems are atomically defined bottom-up synthesized graphene nanoribbons, doped graphene and turbostratic graphene micro-disks, where up to 100 graphene layers are rotationally stacked. For turbostratic graphene we show how this system lends itself to spintronic applications. This follows from the inner graphene layers where charge carriers are protected and thus highly mobile. Doped graphene and graphene nanoribbons offer the possibility to tailor the electronic properties of graphene either by introducing heteroatoms or by confining the system geome…

Thin Film Skyrmionics

In condensed matter physics, magnetic skyrmions, topologically stabilized magnetic solitons, have been discovered in various materials systems, which has intrigued the community in terms of not only fundamental physics but also with respect to engineering applications. In particular, skyrmions in thin films are easily manipulable by electrical means even at room temperature. Concomitantly, a variety of possible applications have been proposed and proof-of-concept devices have been demonstrated. Recently, the field of skyrmion-based electronics has been referred to as skyrmionics and this field has been rapidly growing and extended in multiple directions. This review provides recent progres…

Terahertz Spin‐to‐Charge Conversion by Interfacial Skew Scattering in Metallic Bilayers

The efficient conversion of spin to charge transport and vice versa is of major relevance for the detection and generation of spin currents in spin‐based electronics. Interfaces of heterostructures are known to have a marked impact on this process. Here, terahertz (THz) emission spectroscopy is used to study ultrafast spin‐to‐charge‐current conversion (S2C) in about 50 prototypical F|N bilayers consisting of a ferromagnetic layer F (e.g., Ni81Fe19, Co, or Fe) and a nonmagnetic layer N with strong (Pt) or weak (Cu and Al) spin‐orbit coupling. Varying the structure of the F/N interface leads to a drastic change in the amplitude and even inversion of the polarity of the THz charge current. Rem…

Complex temperature dependence of coupling and dissipation of cavity magnon polaritons from millikelvin to room temperature

Hybridized magnonic-photonic systems are key components for future information processing technologies such as storage, manipulation or conversion of data both in the classical (mostly at room temperature) and quantum (cryogenic) regime. In this work, we investigate a YIG sphere coupled strongly to a microwave cavity over the full temperature range from $290\,\mathrm{K}$ down to $30\,\mathrm{mK}$. The cavity-magnon polaritons are studied from the classical to the quantum regime where the thermal energy is less than one resonant microwave quanta, i.e. at temperatures below $1\,\mathrm{K}$. We compare the temperature dependence of the coupling strength $g_{\rm{eff}}(T)$, describing the streng…

Effective field analysis using the full angular spin-orbit torque magnetometry dependence

Spin-orbit torques promise ultra-efficient magnetization switching used for advanced devices based on emergent quasi-particles such as domain walls and skyrmions. Recently, the spin structure dynamics, materials and systems with tailored spin-orbit torques are being developed. A method, which allows one to detect the acting torques in a given system as a function of the magnetization direction is the torque-magnetometry method based on a higher harmonics analysis of the anomalous Hall-effect. Here we show that the effective fields acting on magnetic domain walls that govern the efficiency of their dynamics require a sophisticated analysis taking into account the full angular dependence of t…

Magnetic field control of the spin Seebeck effect

The origin of the suppression of the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect by applied magnetic fields is studied. We perform numerical simulations of the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation of motion for an atomistic spin model and calculate the magnon accumulation in linear temperature gradients for different strengths of applied magnetic fields and different length scales of the temperature gradient. We observe a decrease of the magnon accumulation with increasing magnetic field and we reveal that the origin of this effect is a field dependent change of the frequency distribution of the propagating magnons. With increasing field the magnonic spin currents are reduced due to a suppressi…

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…

Identification of Néel Vector Orientation in Antiferromagnetic Domains Switched by Currents in NiO/Pt Thin Films

Understanding the electrical manipulation of the antiferromagnetic order is a crucial aspect to enable the design of antiferromagnetic devices working at THz frequencies. Focusing on collinear insulating antiferromagnetic $\mathrm{Ni}\mathrm{O}/\mathrm{Pt}$ thin films as a materials platform, we identify the crystallographic orientation of the domains that can be switched by currents and quantify the N\'eel-vector direction changes. We demonstrate electrical switching between different T domains by current pulses, finding that the N\'eel-vector orientation in these domains is along [$\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}5$ $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}5$ 19], different compared to the bulk $⟨112⟩$ d…

Thermal conductance of thin film YIG determined using Bayesian statistics

Thin film YIG (${\mathrm{Y}}_{3}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$) is a prototypical material for experiments on thermally generated pure spin currents and the spin Seebeck effect. The $3\ensuremath{\omega}$ method is an established technique to measure the cross-plane thermal conductance of thin films, but cannot be used in YIG/GGG (${\mathrm{Ga}}_{3}{\mathrm{Gd}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$) systems in its standard form. We use two-dimensional modeling of heat transport and introduce a technique based on Bayesian statistics to evaluate measurement data taken from the $3\ensuremath{\omega}$ method. Our analysis method allows us to study material systems that have not been accessible with the c…

IEEE Magnetics Society Distinguished Lecturers for 2020

With information technology consuming a sizeable part of the total energy, “Green IT” information storage and computing technology will have a major impact on addressing societal challenges.

Current induced chiral domain wall motion in CuIr/CoFeB/MgO thin films with strong higher order spin–orbit torques

We investigate the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI) and spin–orbit torque effects in CuIr/CoFeB/MgO heterostructures. To this end, harmonic Hall measurements and current induced domain wall motion experiments are performed. The motion of domain walls at zero applied field due to current demonstrates the presence of DMI in this system. We determine the strength of the DMI to be D = + 5 ± 3 μ J / m 2 and deduce right-handed chirality in domain walls showing a partial Neel type spin structure. To ascertain the torques, we perform a second harmonic measurement to quantify the damping- and field-like current induced effective fields as a function of the magnetization direction. From the a…

Coarse-graining collective skyrmion dynamics in confined geometries

Magnetic skyrmions are magnetic quasi-particles with enhanced stability and different manipulation mechanisms using external fields and currents making them promising candidates for future applications for instance in neuromorphic computing. Recently, several measurements and simulations have shown that thermally activated skyrmions in confined geometries, as they are necessary for device applications, arrange themselves predominantly based on commensurability effects. In this simulational study, based on the Thiele model, we investigate the enhanced dynamics and degenerate non-equilibrium steady state of a system in which the intrinsic skyrmion-skyrmion and skyrmion-boundary interaction co…

Magnetic domain structure of La0.7Sr0.3MnO 3 thin-films probed at variable temperature with scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis

The domain configuration of 50 nm thick La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 films has been directly investigated using scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis (SEMPA), with magnetic contrast obtained without the requirement for prior surface preparation. The large scale domain structure reflects a primarily four-fold anisotropy, with a small uniaxial component, consistent with magneto-optic Kerr effect measurements. We also determine the domain transition profile and find it to be in agreement with previous estimates of the domain wall width in this material. The temperature dependence of the image contrast is investigated and compared to superconducting-quantum interference device magnetometry …

Magnetoelectric properties of epitaxialFe3O4thin films on (011) PMN-PT piezosubstrates

We determine the magnetic and magnetotransport properties of 33 nm thick ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ films epitaxially deposited by rf-magnetron sputtering on unpoled (011) ${[{\mathrm{PbMg}}_{1/3}{\mathrm{Nb}}_{2/3}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}]}_{0.68}\ensuremath{-}{[{\mathrm{PbTiO}}_{3}]}_{0.32}$ (PMN-PT) substrates. The magnetoresistance (MR), as well as the magnetization reversal, strongly depend on the in-plane crystallographic direction of the epitaxial (011) ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ film and strain. When the magnetic field is applied along [100], the magnetization loops are slanted and the sign of the longitudinal MR changes from positive to negative around the Verwey transiti…

Effective strain manipulation of the antiferromagnetic state of polycrystalline NiO

As a candidate material for applications such as magnetic memory, polycrystalline antiferromagnets offer the same robustness to external magnetic fields, THz spin dynamics, and lack of stray field as their single crystalline counterparts, but without the limitation of epitaxial growth and lattice matched substrates. Here, we first report the detection of the average Neel vector orientiation in polycrystalline NiO via spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR). Secondly, by applying strain through a piezo-electric substrate, we reduce the critical magnetic field required to reach a saturation of the SMR signal, indicating a change of the anisotropy. Our results are consistent with polycrystalline NiO…

Multiscale model approach for magnetization dynamics simulations

Simulations of magnetization dynamics in a multiscale environment enable the rapid evaluation of the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation in a mesoscopic sample with nanoscopic accuracy in areas where such accuracy is required. We have developed a multiscale magnetization dynamics simulation approach that can be applied to large systems with spin structures that vary locally on small length scales. To implement this, the conventional micromagnetic simulation framework has been expanded to include a multiscale solving routine. The software selectively simulates different regions of a ferromagnetic sample according to the spin structures located within in order to employ a suitable discretization…

Asymmetric hysteresis for probing Dzyalohsinskii-Moriya interaction

The interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) is intimately related to the prospect of superior domain-wall dynamics and the formation of magnetic skyrmions. Although some experimental efforts have been recently proposed to quantify these interactions and the underlying physics, it is still far from trivial to address the interfacial DMI. Inspired by the reported tilt of the magnetization of the side edge of a thin film structure, we here present a quasi-static, straightforward measurement tool. By using laterally asymmetric triangular-shaped microstructures, it is demonstrated that interfacial DMI combined with an in-plane magnetic field yields a unique and significant shift in m…

Skyrmion pinning energetics in thin film systems

AbstractA key issue for skyrmion dynamics and devices are pinning effects present in real systems. While posing a challenge for the realization of conventional skyrmionics devices, exploiting pinning effects can enable non-conventional computing approaches if the details of the pinning in real samples are quantified and understood. We demonstrate that using thermal skyrmion dynamics, we can characterize the pinning of a sample and we ascertain the spatially resolved energy landscape. To understand the mechanism of the pinning, we probe the strong skyrmion size and shape dependence of the pinning. Magnetic microscopy imaging demonstrates that in contrast to findings in previous investigation…

Monolithic focused reference beam x-ray holography

Fourier transform holography is a highly efficient and robust imaging method, suitable for single-shot imaging at coherent X-ray sources. In its common implementation, the image contrast is limited by the reference signal generated by a small pinhole aperture. Increased pinhole diameters improve the signal, whereas the resolution is diminished. Here we report a new concept to decouple the spatial resolution from the image contrast by employing a Fresnel zone plate to provide the reference beam. Superimposed on-axis images of distinct foci are separated with a novel algorithm. Our method is insensitive to mechanical drift or vibrations and allows for long integration times common at low-flux…

Néel Vector Induced Manipulation of Valence States in the Collinear Antiferromagnet Mn 2 Au

The coupling of real and momentum space is utilized to tailor electronic properties of the collinear metallic antiferromagnet Mn2Au by aligning the real space Neel vector indicating the direction o...

Exceptional sign changes of the nonlocal spin Seebeck effect in antiferromagnetic hematite

A.R. and M.K. acknowledge support from the Graduate School of Excellence Materials Science in Mainz (DFG/GSC 266). A.R. and M.K. also acknowledge support from both MaHoJeRo (DAAD Spintronics network, Projects No. 57334897 and No. 57524834) and SPIN+X (DFG SFB TRR 173, No. 268565370 Projects No. A01 and No. B02) and KAUST (Project No. OSR-2019-CRG8-4048.2). This work was supported by the Max Planck Graduate Center with the Johannes Gutenberg-Universitat Mainz (MPGC). A.R., R.L., M.E., U.N., and M.K. acknowledge support from the DFG Project No. 423441604. R.L. acknowledges the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement FAST…

Orientation-dependent direct and inverse spin Hall effects in Co60Fe20B20

The spin Hall effect is a key element of various spintronics applications. Here, the authors study the orientation-dependent interconversion of spin and charge information in Co${}_{60}$Fe${}_{20}$B${}_{20}$. In a nonlocal magnon transport using Y${}_{3}$Fe${}_{5}$O${}_{12}$ as a spin conduit, the spin Hall effect amplitude depends on the relative alignment between the Y${}_{3}$Fe${}_{5}$O${}_{12}$ and Co${}_{60}$Fe${}_{20}$B${}_{20}$ magnetization vectors. In order to suppress direct magnonic contributions so as to study the electronic origin of this effect, Y${}_{3}$Fe${}_{5}$O${}_{12}$ and Co${}_{60}$Fe${}_{20}$B${}_{20}$ are exchange-decoupled by a Cu interlayer.

Inhomogeneous-strain-induced magnetic vortex cluster in one-dimensional manganite wire

Abstract Mixed-valance manganites with strong electron correlation exhibit strong potential for spintronics, where emergent magnetic behaviors, such as propagation of high-frequency spin waves and giant topological Hall Effects can be driven by their mesoscale spin textures. Here, we create magnetic vortex clusters with flux closure spin configurations in single-crystal La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 wire. A distinctive transformation from out-of-plane domains to a vortex state is directly visualized using magnetic force microscopy at 4 K in wires when the width is below 1.0 μm. The phase-field modeling indicates that the inhomogeneous strain, accompanying with shape anisotropy, plays a key role for stab…

Machine learning-based spin structure detection

One of the most important magnetic spin structure is the topologically stabilised skyrmion quasi-particle. Its interesting physical properties make them candidates for memory and efficient neuromorphic computation schemes. For the device operation, detection of the position, shape, and size of skyrmions is required and magnetic imaging is typically employed. A frequently used technique is magneto-optical Kerr microscopy where depending on the samples material composition, temperature, material growing procedures, etc., the measurements suffer from noise, low-contrast, intensity gradients, or other optical artifacts. Conventional image analysis packages require manual treatment, and a more a…

Enhanced Nonadiabaticity in Vortex Cores due to the Emergent Hall Effect.

We present a combined theoretical and experimental study, investigating the origin of the enhanced non-adiabaticity of magnetic vortex cores. Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy is used to image the vortex core gyration dynamically to measure the non-adiabaticity with high precision, including a high confidence upper bound. Using both numerical computations and analytical derivations, we show that the large non-adiabaticity parameter observed experimentally can be explained by the presence of local spin currents arising from a texture-induced emergent Hall effect. This enhanced non-adiabaticity is only present in two- and three-dimensional magnetic textures such as vortices and skyrmions…

Development of a scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis system for magnetic imaging with ns time resolution and phase-sensitive detection.

Scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis is a powerful lab-based magnetic imaging technique offering simultaneous imaging of multiple magnetization components and a very high spatial resolution. However, one drawback of the technique is the long required acquisition time resulting from the low inherent efficiency of spin detection, which has limited the applicability of the technique to certain quasi-static measurement schemes and materials with high magnetic contrast. Here we demonstrate the ability to improve the signal-to-noise ratio for particular classes of measurements involving periodic excitation of the magnetic structure via the implementation of a digital phase-sens…

Skyrmion Dynamics – from thermal diffusion to ultra-fast motion

Summary form only given. Spintronics promises to be a paradigm shift from using the charge degree of freedom to using the spin degree of freedom. To this end three key requirements are: (i) stable spin structures for long term data retention; (ii) efficient spin manipulation for low power devices and (iii) ideally no susceptibility to stray fields as realized for antiferromagnets. We explore different materials classes to tackle these challenges and explore the science necessary for a disruptive new technology. To obtain ultimate stability, topological spin structures that emerge due to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI), such as chiral domain walls and skyrmions are used. These po…

Skyrmion Lattice Phases in Thin Film Multilayer

Phases of matter are ubiquitous with everyday examples including solids and liquids. In reduced dimensions, particular phases, such as the two-dimensional (2D) hexatic phase and corresponding phase transitions occur. A particularly exciting example of 2D ordered systems are skyrmion lattices, where in contrast to previously studied 2D colloid systems, the skyrmion size and density can be tuned by temperature and magnetic field. This allows us to drive the system from a liquid phase to a hexatic phase as deduced from the analysis of the hexagonal order. Using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of soft disks, we determine the skyrmion interaction potentials and we find that the sim…

Topological Defects in Nanostructures—Chiral Domain Walls and Skyrmions

In this chapter, spin structures with particular topologies in confined geometries are presented. Domain walls in nanowires exhibit a spin structure that depends on the material and geometry while in discs Skyrmions can be stabilized by different competing interactions. The topologies of these spin structures can be characterized by a Skyrmion or Winding number that governs the dynamics and stability.

Exploiting Coherence in Nonlinear Spin-Superfluid Transport

We show how the interference between superfluid spin currents can endow spin circuits with coherent logic functionality. While the hydrodynamic aspects of the linear-response collective spin transport obviate interference features, we focus on the nonlinear regime, where the critical supercurrent is sensitive to the phase accumulated by the condensate in a loop geometry. We propose to control this phase by electrical gating, tuning the spin-condensate coherence length. The nonlinear aspects of the spin superfluidity thus naturally lend themselves to the construction of logic gates, uniquely exploiting the coherence of collective spin currents. Vice versa, this functionality can be used to r…

Orbitronics: orbital currents in solids

In solids, electronic Bloch states are formed by atomic orbitals. While it is natural to expect that orbital composition and information about Bloch states can be manipulated and transported, in analogy to the spin degree of freedom extensively studied in past decades, it has been assumed that orbital quenching by the crystal field prevents significant dynamics of orbital degrees of freedom. However, recent studies reveal that an orbital current, given by the flow of electrons with a finite orbital angular momentum, can be electrically generated and transported in wide classes of materials despite the effect of orbital quenching in the ground state. Orbital currents also play a fundamental …

Chemical Vapor Deposition Synthesis and Terahertz Photoconductivity of Low-Band-Gap N = 9 Armchair Graphene Nanoribbons.

Recent advances in bottom-up synthesis of atomically defined graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with various microstructures and properties have demonstrated their promise in electronic and optoelectronic devices. Here we synthesized N = 9 armchair graphene nanoribbons (9-AGNRs) with a low optical band gap of ∼1.0 eV and extended absorption into the infrared range by an efficient chemical vapor deposition process. Time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy was employed to characterize the photoconductivity in 9-AGNRs and revealed their high intrinsic charge-carrier mobility of approximately 350 cm2·V-1·s-1.

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…

Anisotropies and magnetic phase transitions in insulating antiferromagnets determined by a Spin-Hall magnetoresistance probe

Antiferromagnets possess a number of intriguing and promising properties for electronic devices, which include a vanishing net magnetic moment and thus insensitivity to large magnetic fields and characteristic terahertz frequency dynamics. However, probing the antiferromagnetic ordering is challenging without synchrotron-based facilities. Here, we determine the material parameters of the insulating iron oxide hematite, α-Fe2O3, using the surface sensitive spin-Hall magnetoresistance (SMR). Combined with a simple analytical model, we extract the antiferromagnetic anisotropies and the bulk Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya field over a wide range of temperatures and magnetic fields. Across the Morin phas…

Dirakův kužel a pseudogapped hustota stavů v topologické polovině Heuslerovy sloučeniny YPtBi

Topologické izolátory (Tis) jsou zajímavé materiály, které vykazují nebývalé vlastnosti. . Zde jsme prozkoumali sloučeniny YPtBi jako příklad ze třídy polovu-Heuslerových materiálů. Topological insulators (TIs) are exciting materials, which exhibit unprecedented properties, such as helical spinmomentum locking, which leads to large torques for magnetic switching and highly efficient spin current detection. Here we explore the compound YPtBi, an example from the class of half-Heusler materials, for which the typical band inversion of topological insulators was predicted. We prepared this material as thin films by conventional cosputtering from elementary targets. By in situ time-of-flight mo…

Chiral Magnetic Domain Wall and Skyrmion Memory Devices

In the chapter, we have reviewed the fundamental physics for designing magnetic domain wall memories, especially domain wall racetrack memories. An overview of how the racetrack has been functionally improved and the fundamental physics behind the operating mechanism has developed is shown. Material wise, the design of the racetrack has changed from using in-plane magnetic materials to out-of-plane magnetic materials. The process of changing the material design resulted in new physics such as the spin-orbit torques (SOTs) and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) which resulted in domain wall motion with higher efficiency and stability. The SOT is the main mechanism in moving the doma…

Temperature dependence of the non-local spin Seebeck effect in YIG/Pt nanostructures

We study the transport of thermally excited non-equilibrium magnons through the ferrimagnetic insulator YIG using two electrically isolated Pt strips as injector and detector. The diffusing magnons induce a non-local inverse spin Hall voltage in the detector corresponding to the so-called non-local spin Seebeck effect (SSE). We measure the non-local SSE as a function of temperature and strip separation. In experiments at room temperature we observe a sign change of the non-local SSE voltage at a characteristic strip separation d0, in agreement with previous investigations. At lower temperatures however, we find a strong temperature dependence of d0. This suggests that both the angular momen…

Enhanced thermally-activated skyrmion diffusion in synthetic antiferromagnetic systems with tunable effective topological charge

Magnetic skyrmions, topologically-stabilized spin textures that emerge in particular magnetic systems, have attracted attention due to a variety of electromagnetic responses that are governed by the topology. A well-studied effect of topology on the deterministic and drift motion under a nonequilibrium excitation is the so-called skyrmion Hall effect. For stochastic diffusive motion, the effect of topology is expected to have a drastically stronger impact, but the predicted even qualitative impact has not been demonstrated. The required tuning of the topology to achieve zero effective topological charge can be achieved using antiferromagnetic skyrmions. However, the diffusive motion has pre…

Spin-orbit torque-driven magnetization switching and thermal effects studied in Ta\CoFeB\MgO nanowires

We demonstrate magnetization switching in out-of-plane magnetized Ta\CoFeB\MgO nanowires by current pulse injection along the nanowires, both with and without a constant and uniform magnetic field collinear to the current direction. We deduce that an effective torque arising from spin-orbit effects in the multilayer drives the switching mechanism. While the generation of a component of the magnetization along the current direction is crucial for the switching to occur, we observe that even without a longitudinal field thermally generated magnetization fluctuations can lead to switching. Analysis using a generalized N\'eel-Brown model enables key parameters of the thermally induced spin-orbi…

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…

Modulating the polarization of broadband terahertz pulses from a spintronic emitter at rates up to 10 kHz

Reliable modulation of terahertz electromagnetic waveforms is important for many applications. Here, we rapidly modulate the direction of the electric field of linearly polarized terahertz electromagnetic pulses with 1–30 THz bandwidth by applying time-dependent magnetic fields to a spintronic terahertz emitter. Polarity modulation of the terahertz field with more than 99% contrast at a rate of 10 kHz is achieved using a harmonic magnetic field. By adding a static magnetic field, we modulate the direction of the terahertz field between angles of, for instance, −53° and 53° at kilohertz rates. We believe our approach makes spintronic terahertz emitters a promising source for low-noise modula…

Dynamics and inertia of skyrmionic spin structures

Understanding the motion of magnetic skyrmions is essential if they are to be used as information carriers in devices. It is now shown that topological confinement endows the skyrmions with an unexpectedly large mass, which plays a key role in their dynamics.

Spin-resolved terahertz spectroscopy

As such, terahertz spectroscopy cannot resolve the spin structure of conducting particles. Here we introduce the spin sensitivity to terahertz spectroscopy by using the spin-valve configuration of the sample. As a result, the number density and momentum scattering time of conduction electrons in a ferromagnetic metal can be resolved according to their spin.

Complex Terahertz and Direct Current Inverse Spin Hall Effect in YIG/Cu1-xIrx Bilayers Across a Wide Concentration Range

We measure the inverse spin Hall effect of Cu1-xIrx thin films on yttrium iron garnet over a wide range of Ir concentrations (0.05 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.7). Spin currents are triggered through the spin Seebeck effect, either by a continuous (dc) temperature gradient or by ultrafast optical heating of the metal layer. The spin Hall current is detected by electrical contacts or measurement of the emitted terahertz radiation. With both approaches, we reveal the same Ir concentration dependence that follows a novel complex, nonmonotonous behavior as compared to previous studies. For small Ir concentrations a signal minimum is observed, whereas a pronounced maximum appears near the equiatomic composition. We …

Control of the Magnetic Configuration of Ferromagnetic Nanostructures Across the Structural Phase Transition of Vanadium Dioxide

We investigate the effect of the structural phase transition in VO 2 in magnetoelastically coupled heterostructures of VO 2 and Ni. Continuous and nano-patterned Ni layers were used, and we found reversible and reproducible magnetic domain switching induced by the VO 2 structural phase transition. The magnetic states of the nano-patterned ferromagnetic elements were dominated by topographic features which generated strong pinning but still allowed for a reversible switching between the states. Our measurements constitute a key step for the use of the VO 2 phase transition for ultrafast dynamical studies of the inverse mangetostrictive effect, and eventually employing the effect for ultrafas…

Epitaxial Mn2Au thin films for antiferromagnetic spintronics

Mn2Au is one of the few candidate materials for antiferromagnetic spintronics requiring ordered metals with a high Neel-temperature and strong spin–orbit coupling. We report the preparation of epitaxial Mn2Au thin films by rf-sputtering. Structural characterization by x-ray and electron diffraction demonstrates a high degree of atomic order and the temperature dependence of the resistivity is typical for a good metal. The magnetic properties of the samples are studied by the investigation of Mn2Au/Fe bilayers. Exchange bias effects are observed, which present strong evidence for antiferromagnetic order in the Mn2Au thin films. Small domains of 500 nm are visualized in the exchange coupled F…

Electronic properties of Co2FeSi investigated by X-ray magnetic linear dichroism

We present experimental XMLD spectra measured on epitaxial (001)-oriented thin Co$_{2}$FeSi films, which are rich in features and depend sensitively on the degree of atomic order and interdiffusion from capping layers. Al- and Cr-capped films with different degrees of atomic order were prepared by DC magnetron sputtering by varying the deposition temperatures. The local structural properties of the film samples were additionally investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements. The XMLD spectra of the different samples show clear and uniform trends at the $L_{3,2}$ edges. The Al-capped samples show similar behavior as previous measured XMLD spectra of Co$_2$FeSi$_{0.6}$Al$_{0.4…

Imaging of current induced Néel vector switching in antiferromagnetic Mn 2 Au

The effects of current induced N\'eel spin-orbit torques on the antiferromagnetic domain structure of epitaxial Mn$_2$Au thin films were investigated by X-ray magnetic linear dichroism - photoemission electron microscopy (XMLD-PEEM). We observed current induced switching of AFM domains essentially corresponding to morphological features of the samples. Reversible as well as irreversible N\'eel vector reorientation was obtained in different parts of the samples and the switching of up to 30 % of all domains in the field of view of 10 $\mu$m is demonstrated. Our direct microscopical observations are compared to and fully consistent with anisotropic magnetoresistance effects previously attribu…

Current-induced domain wall motion in nanoscale ferromagnetic elements

The manipulation of a magnetic domain wall (DW) by a spin polarized current in ferromagnetic nanowires has attracted tremendous interest during the last years due to fundamental questions in the fields of spin dependent transport phenomena and magnetization dynamics but also due to promising applications, such as DW based magnetic memory concepts and logic devices. We comprehensively review recent developments in the field of geometrically confined domain walls and in particular current induced DW dynamics. We focus on the influence of the magnetic and electronic transport properties of the materials on the spin transfer effect in DWs. After considering the different DW structures in ferrom…

Electrical and Magnetic Properties of Graphene Films with Ni Nanoparticles

Electrical properties and magnetic properties of graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide films with addition of Ni nanoparticles were investigated. It is found that reduction of GO by Hydrazine hydrate (HH) and subsequent mixing with Ni NPs yields a higher current (10(-5)A) compared to the samples where GO is first mixed with Ni NPs and further reduced (10(-6)A). At the same time, GO sample prepared by addition of Ni NPs to GO with subsequent reduction by HH presents the largest hysteresis with Mr as high as 11.8emu/g. Moreover, mixing of Ni NPs with HH before addition to GO or addition of Ni NPs to already reduced GO yields smaller values of the magnetization. Thus, the optimal procedure…

Magnon mode selective spin transport in compensated ferrimagnets

We investigate the generation of magnonic thermal spin currents and their mode selective spin transport across interfaces in insulating, compensated ferrimagnet/normal metal bilayer systems. The spin Seebeck effect signal exhibits a non-monotonic temperature dependence with two sign changes of the detected voltage signals. Using different ferrimagnetic garnets, we demonstrate the universality of the observed complex temperature dependence of the spin Seebeck effect. To understand its origin, we systematically vary the interface between the ferrimagnetic garnet and the metallic layer, and by using different metal layers we establish that interface effects play a dominating role. They do not …

Surface resonance of thin films of the Heusler half-metal Co2MnSi probed by soft x-ray angular resolved photoemission spectroscopy

Heusler compounds are promising materials for spintronics with adjustable electronic properties including 100% spin polarization at the Fermi energy. We investigate the electronic states of ${\mathrm{AlO}}_{x}$ capped epitaxial thin films of the ferromagnetic half-metal ${\mathrm{Co}}_{2}\mathrm{MnSi}$ ex situ by soft x-ray angular resolved photoemission spectroscopy (SX-ARPES). Good agreement between the experimental SX-ARPES results and photoemission calculations including surface effects was obtained. In particular, we observed in line with our calculations a large photoemission intensity at the center of the Brillouin zone, which does not originate from bulk states, but from a surface r…

Manipulation of antiferromagnetic domain distribution in Mn2 Au by ultrahigh magnetic fields and by strain

Evidence for a spin reorientation in antiferromagnetic (AFM) Mn2Au thin films induced by high magnetic fields as well as by the application of in-plane mechanical stress is provided. The AFM domain population in the samples was investigated by resonant X-ray Magnetic Linear Dichroism (XMLD) measurements at the L3 edge of Mn using a variable linear polarization of the incident photon beam. As grown samples show no XMLD signal due to averaging over a random AFM domain distribution. After the exposure to a 70 T in-plane magnetic field a clear XMLD signal indicating the generation of a preferential AFM domain orientation is obtained. The same type of XMLD signal is observed when the thin films …

Magnetic Coupling in Y3Fe5O12/Gd3Fe5O12 Heterostructures

Ferrimagnetic ${\mathrm{Y}}_{3}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$ (YIG) is the prototypical material for studying magnonic properties due to its exceptionally low damping. By substituting the yttrium with rare earth elements that have a net magnetic moment, we can introduce an additional spin degree of freedom. Here, we study the magnetic coupling in epitaxial ${\mathrm{Y}}_{3}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$/${\mathrm{Gd}}_{3}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$ (YIG/GIG) heterostructures grown by pulsed laser deposition. From bulk sensitive magnetometry and surface sensitive spin Seebeck effect and spin Hall magnetoresistance measurements, we determine the alignment of the heterostruct…

Steering between level repulsion and attraction: broad tunability of two-port driven cavity magnon-polaritons

Abstract Cavity-magnon polaritons (CMPs) are the associated quasiparticles of the hybridization between cavity photons and magnons in a magnetic sample placed in a microwave resonator. In the strong coupling regime, where the macroscopic coupling strength exceeds the individual dissipation, there is a coherent exchange of information. This renders CMPs as promising candidates for future applications such as in information processing. Recent advances on the study of the CMP now allow not only for creation of CMPs on demand, but also for tuning of the coupling strength—this can be thought of as the enhancement or suppression of information exchange. Here, we go beyond standard single-port dri…

Electron transport and the effect of current annealing in a two-point contacted hBN/graphene/hBN heterostructure device

In this work, we fabricated a 2D van der Waals heterostructure device in an inert nitrogen atmosphere by means of a dry transfer technique in order to obtain a clean and largely impurity free stack of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN)-encapsulated few-layer graphene. The heterostructure was contacted from the top with gold leads on two sides, and the device’s properties including intrinsic charge carrier density, mobility, and contact resistance were studied as a function of temperature from 4 K to 270 K. We show that the contact resistance of the device mainly originates from the metal/graphene interface, which contributes a significant part to the total resistance. We demonstrate that current…

Accurate calculation of the transverse anisotropy of a magnetic domain wall in perpendicularly magnetized multilayers

Bloch domain walls are the most common type of transition between two out-of-plane magnetized domains (one magnetized upwards, one downwards) in films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The rotation of the spins of such domain walls in the plane of the film requires energy, which is described by an effective anisotropy, the so-called transverse or hard axis anisotropy ${K}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$. This anisotropy and the related D\"oring mass density of the domain wall are key parameters of the one-dimensional model to describe the motion of magnetic domain walls. In particular, the critical field strength or current density where oscillatory domain wall motion sets in (Walker breakdown)…

Robust Two-Dimensional Electronic Properties in Three-Dimensional Microstructures of Rotationally Stacked Turbostratic Graphene

We report on the electronic properties of turbostratic graphitic microdisks, rotationally stacked systems of graphene layers, where interlayer twisting leads to electronic decoupling resulting in charge-transport properties that retain the two dimensionality of graphene, despite the presence of a large number of layers. A key fingerprint of this reduced dimensionality is the effect of weak charge-carrier localization that we observe at low temperatures. The disks' resistivity measured as a function of magnetic field changes its shape from parabolic at room temperature to linear at a temperature of 2.7 K indicating further this type of two-dimensional transport. Compared to Bernal stacked gr…

Time-resolved imaging of pulse-induced magnetization reversal with a microwave assist field

AbstractThe reversal of the magnetization under the influence of a field pulse has been previously predicted to be an incoherent process with several competing phenomena such as domain wall relaxation, spin wave-mediated instability regions and vortex-core mediated reversal dynamics. However, there has been no study on the direct observation of the switching process with the aid of a microwave signal input. We report a time-resolved imaging study of magnetization reversal in patterned magnetic structures under the influence of a field pulse with microwave assistance. The microwave frequency is varied to demonstrate the effect of resonant microwave-assisted switching. We observe that the swi…

The effect of magnetic anisotropy on the spin configurations of patterned La(0.7)Sr(0.3)MnO3 elements.

We study the effect of magnetocrystalline anisotropy on the magnetic configurations of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 bar and triangle elements using photoemission electron microscopy imaging. The dominant remanent state is a low energy flux-closure state for both thin (15 nm) and thick (50 nm) elements. The magnetocrystalline anisotropy, which competes with the dipolar energy, causes a strong modification of the spin configuration in the thin elements, depending on the shape, size and orientation of the structures. We investigate the magnetic switching processes and observe in triangular shaped elements a displacement of the vortex core along the easy axis for an external magnetic field applied close to t…

Antenna-coupled spintronic terahertz emitters driven by a 1550 nm femtosecond laser oscillator

We demonstrate antenna-coupled spintronic terahertz (THz) emitters excited by 1550 nm, 90 fs laser pulses. Antennas are employed to optimize THz outcoupling and frequency coverage of ferromagnetic/nonmagnetic metallic spintronic structures. We directly compare the antenna-coupled devices to those without antennas. Using a 200 μm H-dipole antenna and an ErAs:InGaAs photoconductive receiver, we obtain a 2.42-fold larger THz peak-peak signal, a bandwidth of 4.5 THz, and an increase in the peak dynamic range (DNR) from 53 dB to 65 dB. A 25 μm slotline antenna offered 5 dB larger peak DNR and a bandwidth of 5 THz. For all measurements, we use a comparatively low laser power of 45 mW from a comme…

Perspective: Magnetic skyrmions—Overview of recent progress in an active research field

Within a decade, the field of magnetic skyrmionics has developed from a niche prediction to a huge and active research field. Not only do magnetic skyrmions—magnetic whirls with a unique topology—reveal fundamentally new physics, but they have also risen to prominence as up-and-coming candidates for next-generation high-density efficient information encoding. Within a few years, it has been possible to efficiently create, manipulate, and destroy nanometer-size skyrmions in device-compatible materials at room-temperature by all electrical means. Despite the incredibly rapid progress, several challenges still remain to obtain fully functional and competitive skyrmion devices, as discussed in …

Harnessing Orbital-to-Spin Conversion of Interfacial Orbital Currents for Efficient Spin-Orbit Torques.

The system generates two errors of "Bad character(s) in field Abstract" for no reason. Please refer to the manuscript for the full abstract.

Magnon transport in the presence of antisymmetric exchange in a weak antiferromagnet

The Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) is at the heart of many modern developments in the research field of spintronics. DMI is known to generate noncollinear magnetic textures, and can take two forms in antiferromagnets: homogeneous or inter-sublattice, leading to small, canted moments and inhomogeneous or intra-sublattice, leading to formation of chiral structures. In this work, we first determine the strength of the effective field created by the DMI, using SQUID based magnetometry and transport measurements, in thin films of the antiferromagnetic iron oxide hematite, $\alpha$-Fe$_2$O$_3$. We demonstrate that DMI additionally introduces reconfigurability in the long distance magnon …

Spin structure and spin Hall magnetoresistance of epitaxial thin films of the insulating non-collinear antiferromagnet SmFeO 3

We report a combined study of imaging the antiferromagnetic (AFM) spin structure and measuring the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in epitaxial thin films of the insulating non-collinear antiferromagnet SmFeO3. X-ray magnetic linear dichroism photoemission electron microscopy measurements reveal that the AFM spins of the SmFeO3(1 1 0) align in the plane of the film. Angularly dependent magnetoresistance measurements show that SmFeO3/Ta bilayers exhibit a positive SMR, in contrast to the negative SMR expected in previously studied collinear AFMs. The SMR amplitude increases linearly with increasing external magnetic field at higher magnetic fields, suggesting that field-induced canting of …

The 2014 Magnetism Roadmap

Magnetism is a very fascinating and dynamic field. Especially in the last 30 years it has experienced many major advances in the full range from novel fundamental phenomena to new products. Applications such as hard disk drives and magnetic sensors are part of our daily life, and new applications, such as in non-volatile computer random access memory, are expected to surface shortly. Thus it is timely for describing the current status, and current and future challenges in the form of a Roadmap article. This 2014 Magnetism Roadmap provides a view on several selected, currently very active innovative developments. It consists of 12 sections, each written by an expert in the field and addressi…

Experimental Observation of Strong Exciton Effects in Graphene Nanoribbons

Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with atomically precise width and edge structures are a promising class of nanomaterials for optoelectronics, thanks to their semiconducting nature and high mobility of charge carriers. Understanding the fundamental static optical properties and ultrafast dynamics of charge carrier generation in GNRs is essential for optoelectronic applications. Combining THz spectroscopy and theoretical calculations, we report a strong exciton effect with binding energy up to 700 meV in liquid-phase-dispersed GNRs with a width of 1.7 nm and an optical bandgap of 1.6 eV, illustrating the intrinsically strong Coulomb interactions between photogenerated electrons and holes. By trac…

Imprinting the complex dielectric permittivity of liquids into the spintronic terahertz emission

We report an approach in time-domain terahertz (THz) spectroscopy for measuring the dielectric response of liquids based on inherent properties of spintronic THz emitters (STEs). The THz electric field radiated from the STE is inversely proportional to the sum of the complex refractive indices of the media surrounding the thin metallic stack of the STE and the stack's conductivity. We demonstrate that by bringing a liquid in contact with the emitter, its complex refractive index and accordingly its dielectric response are imprinted into the radiated electromagnetic field from the emitter. We use water as the test liquid and ascertain its dielectric loss and permittivity in the range of ∼0.…

Domain wall pinning in ultra-narrow electromigrated break junctions

The study of magnetic domain walls in constrained geometries is an important topic, yet when dealing with extreme nanoscale magnetic systems artefacts can often dominate the measurements and obscure the effects of intrinsic magnetic origin. In this work we study the evolution of domain wall depinning in electromigrated ferromagnetic junctions which are both initially fabricated and subsequently tailored in-situ in clean ultra-high vacuum conditions. Carefully designed Ni(80)Fe(20) (Permalloy) notched half-ring structures are fabricated and investigated as a function of constriction width by tailoring the size of the contact using controlled in-situ electromigration. It is found that the dom…

Tuning of interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and domain structures in magnetic thin film multilayers

We investigate the magnetic domain structures and the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) arising in CoFeB films interfaced with selected heavy metal (HM) layers with large spin Hall angles in HM/CoFeB/MgO (HM = W, Pt, Pd, W x Ta1−x ) stacks as a function of CoFeB thickness and composition for both as-deposited and annealed materials stacks. The coercivity and the anisotropy fields of annealed material stacks are higher than for the as-deposited stacks due to crystallisation of the ferromagnetic layer. Generally a critical thickness of MgO > 1 nm provides adequate oxide formation at the top interface as a requirement for the generation of PMA. We demonstrate that in stacks with Pt as th…

Spin Hall magnetoresistance in the non-collinear ferrimagnet GdIG close to the compensation temperature

We investigate the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in a gadolinium iron garnet (GdIG)/platinum (Pt) heterostructure by angular dependent magnetoresistance measurements. The magnetic structure of the ferromagnetic insulator GdIG is non-collinear near the compensation temperature, while it is collinear far from the compensation temperature. In the collinear regime, the SMR signal in GdIG is consistent with the usual [Formula: see text] relation well established in the collinear magnet yttrium iron garnet, with [Formula: see text] the angle between magnetization and spin Hall spin polarization direction. In the non-collinear regime, both an SMR signal with inverted sign and a more complex an…

Synchronous precessional motion of multiple domain in a ferromagnetic nanowire by perpendicular field pulses

Magnetic storage and logic devices based on magnetic domain wall motion rely on the precise and synchronous displacement of multiple domain walls. The conventional approach using magnetic fields does not allow for the synchronous motion of multiple domains. As an alternative method, synchronous current-induced domain wall motion was studied, but the required high-current densities prevent widespread use in devices. Here we demonstrate a radically different approach: we use out-of-plane magnetic field pulses to move in-plane domains, thus combining field-induced magnetization dynamics with the ability to move neighbouring domain walls in the same direction. Micromagnetic simulations suggest …

Domain-wall induced large magnetoresistance effects at zero applied field in ballistic nanocontacts

We determine magnetoresistance effects in stable and clean Permalloy nanocontacts of variable cross section, fabricated by UHV deposition and in situ electromigration. To ascertain the magnetoresistance (MR) effects originating from a magnetic domain wall, we measure the resistance values with and without such a wall at zero applied field. In the ballistic transport regime, the MR ratio reaches up to 50% and exhibits a previously unobserved sign change. Our results can be reproduced by recent atomistic calculations for different atomic configurations of the nanocontact, highlighting the importance of the detailed atomic arrangement for the MR effect. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.067203

Electrically Driven Magnetic Domain Wall Rotation in Multiferroic Heterostructures to Manipulate Suspended On-Chip Magnetic Particles

In this work, we experimentally demonstrate deterministic electrically driven, strain-mediated domain wall (DW) rotation in ferromagnetic Ni rings fabricated on piezoelectric [Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3]0.66-[PbTiO3]0.34 (PMN-PT) substrates. While simultaneously imaging the Ni rings with X-ray magnetic circular dichroism photoemission electron microscopy, an electric field is applied across the PMN-PT substrate that induces strain in the ring structures, driving DW rotation around the ring toward the dominant PMN-PT strain axis by the inverse magnetostriction effect. The DW rotation we observe is analytically predicted using a fully coupled micromagnetic/elastodynamic multiphysics simulation, which v…

Impact of electromagnetic fields and heat on spin transport signals in Y 3 Fe 5 O 12

Geometrical dependence of domain wall propagation and nucleation fields in magnetic domain wall sensor devices

We study the key domain wall properties in segmented nanowires loop-based structures used in domain wall based sensors. The two reasons for device failure, namely the distribution of domain wall propagation field (depinning) and the nucleation field are determined with Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect (MOKE) and Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR) measurements for thousands of elements to obtain significant statistics. Single layers of Ni$_{81}$Fe$_{19}$, a complete GMR stack with Co$_{90}$Fe$_{10}$/Ni$_{81}$Fe$_{19}$ as a free layer and a single layer of Co$_{90}$Fe$_{10}$ are deposited and industrially patterned to determine the influence of the shape anisotropy, the magnetocrystalline anisotropy an…

Dynamics and topological mass of skyrmionic spin structures (presentation video)

Skyrmions are topologically protected particle-like configurations, with a topological complexity described by their Skyrmion number. In magnetic systems, they have been numerically predicted to exhibit rich dynamics, such as the gyrotropic and breathing modes, dominated by their topology. Recent experimental advances brought their static manipulation well under control. However, their dynamical behaviour is largely unexplored experimentally. In this work, we provide with the first direct observation of eigenmode skyrmion dynamics. In particular, we present dynamical imaging data with high temporal and spatial resolution to demonstrate the GHz gyrotropic mode of a single skyrmion bubble, as…

Direct imaging of chiral domain walls and N\'eel-type skyrmionium in ferrimagnetic alloys

The evolution of chiral spin structures is studied in ferrimagnet Ta/Ir/Fe/GdFeCo/Pt multilayers as a function of temperature using scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis (SEMPA). The GdFeCo ferrimagnet exhibits pure right-hand N\'eel-type domain wall (DW) spin textures over a large temperature range. This indicates the presence of a negative Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) that can originate from both the top Fe/Pt and the Co/Pt interfaces. From measurements of the DW width, as well as complementary magnetic characterization, the exchange stiffness as a function of temperature is ascertained. The exchange stiffness is surprisingly mostly constant, which is explaine…

High-Performance Flexible Magnetic Tunnel Junctions for Smart Miniaturized Instruments

The effect of interface roughness on exchange bias in La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 - BiFeO3 heterostructures

We characterized the interfaces of heterostructures with different stack sequences of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/BiFeO3 (LSMO/BFO) and BFO/LSMO using TEM revealing sharp and rough interfaces, respectively. Magnetometry and magnetoresistance measurements do not show a detectable exchange bias coupling for the multistack with sharp interface. Instead, the heterostructures with rough and chemically intermixed interfaces exhibit a sizable exchange bias coupling. Furthermore, we find a temperature-dependent irreversible magnetization behavior and an exponential decay of coercive and exchange bias field with temperature suggesting a possible spin-glass-like state at the interface of both stacks.

Enhancement of spin Hall conductivity in W-Ta alloy

Generating pure spin currents via the spin Hall effect in heavy metals has been an active topic of research in the last decade. In order to reduce the energy required to efficiently switch neighbouring ferromagnetic layers for applications, one should not only increase the charge- to-spin conversion efficiency but also decrease the longitudinal resistivity of the heavy metal. In this work, we investigate the spin Hall conductivity in W_{1-x}Ta_{x} / CoFeB / MgO (x = 0 - 0.2) using spin torque ferromagnetic resonance measurements. Alloying W with Ta leads to a factor of two change in both the damping-like effective spin Hall angle (from - 0.15 to - 0.3) and longitudinal resistivity (60 - 120…

Concurrent magneto-optical imaging and magneto-transport readout of electrical switching of insulating antiferromagnetic thin films

We demonstrate stable and reversible current induced switching of large-area ($&gt; 100\;��m^2$) antiferromagnetic domains in NiO/Pt by performing concurrent transport and magneto-optical imaging measurements in an adapted Kerr microscope. By correlating the magnetic images of the antiferromagnetic domain changes and magneto-transport signal response in these current-induced switching experiments, we disentangle magnetic and non-magnetic contributions to the transport signal. Our table-top approach establishes a robust procedure to subtract the non-magnetic contributions in the transport signal and extract the spin-Hall magnetoresistance response associated with the switching of the antifer…

Spin transport in multilayer systems with fully epitaxial NiO thin films

We report the generation and transport of thermal spin currents in fully epitaxial $\ensuremath{\gamma}\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}/\mathrm{NiO}(001)/\mathrm{Pt}$ and $\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}/\mathrm{NiO}(001)/\mathrm{Pt}$ trilayers. A thermal gradient, perpendicular to the plane of the sample, generates a magnonic spin current in the ferrimagnetic maghemite $(\ensuremath{\gamma}\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3})$ and magnetite $(\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{4})$ thin films by means of the spin Seebeck effect. The spin current propagates across the epitaxial, antiferromagnetic insulating NiO layer…

Magnetic Anisotropy Engineering in Thin Film Ni Nanostructures by Magnetoelastic Coupling

Gilbert damping of CoFe-alloys

We report structural, magnetic and dynamic properties of polycrystalline Coalt;subagt;xalt;/subagt;Fealt;subagt;1-xalt;/subagt;-alloy films on Sapphire, Silicon and MgO substrates across the full composition range, by using a Vector Network Analyser ferromagnetic resonance measurement technique (VNA-FMR), Superconducting Quantum Interference Device magnetometry (SQUID) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). In the approximate vicinity of 28% Co, we observe a minimum of the damping parameter, associated with a reduction in the density of states to a minimum value at the Fermi energy level. For films on all substrates, we find magnetic damping of the order of 4-5⋅10alt;supagt;-3alt;/supagt;, showing th…

Néel Spin-Orbit Torque Driven Antiferromagnetic Resonance in Mn2Au Probed by Time-Domain THz Spectroscopy

We observe the excitation of collective modes in the terahertz (THz) range driven by the recently discovered Neel spin-orbit torques (NSOTs) in the metallic antiferromagnet Mn_{2}Au. Temperature-dependent THz spectroscopy reveals a strong absorption mode centered near 1 THz, which upon heating from 4 to 450 K softens and loses intensity. A comparison with the estimated eigenmode frequencies implies that the observed mode is an in-plane antiferromagnetic resonance (AFMR). The AFMR absorption strength exceeds those found in antiferromagnetic insulators, driven by the magnetic field of the THz radiation, by 3 orders of magnitude. Based on this and the agreement with our theory modeling, we inf…

Strain detection in non-magnetic steel by Kerr-microscopy of magnetic tracer layers

Abstract For many applications of steel, e.g. for the evaluation of the fatigue state of components or structures, the characterization of the microscopic strain distribution in the material is important. We present a proof-of-principle for the visualization of such strain distributions by Kerr-microscopy of ferromagnetic tracer layers on nonmagnetic steel sheets. The influence of indentation induced strain on the magnetic domain pattern of 20 nm Galfenol and Permalloy tracer layers on austenitic AISI 904L steel sheets was investigated. The obtained Kerr-microscopy images show a characteristic domain pattern in the strained regions of the steel sheets, which is consistent with a dominant ma…

The effect of magnetocrystalline anisotropy on the domain structure of patterned Fe2CrSi Heusler alloy thin films

The effects of magnetic anisotropy on domain structures in half-metallic Heusler alloy Fe2CrSi thin film elements were investigated using high resolution x-ray magnetic circular dichroism photoemission electron microscopy. The transition of the dominating contribution from the magnetocrystalline anisotropy to the shape anisotropy is observed in square-shaped elements when reducing the size below 2.0–2.5 μm. In particular, we identify in disk-shaped Heusler elements the vortex state as the ground state. The shape-anisotropy dominated, well-defined magnetization configuration shows the potential of the Fe2CrSi Heusler alloy for applications in vortex-core- or domain-wall-devices, where the hi…

Dynamic domain wall chirality rectification by rotating magnetic fields

Brownian reservoir computing realized using geometrically confined skyrmion dynamics

AbstractReservoir computing (RC) has been considered as one of the key computational principles beyond von-Neumann computing. Magnetic skyrmions, topological particle-like spin textures in magnetic films are particularly promising for implementing RC, since they respond strongly nonlinearly to external stimuli and feature inherent multiscale dynamics. However, despite several theoretical proposals that exist for skyrmion reservoir computing, experimental realizations have been elusive until now. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a conceptually new approach to skyrmion RC that leverages the thermally activated diffusive motion of skyrmions. By confining the electrically gated a…

Efficient Spin Torques in Antiferromagnetic CoO/Pt Quantified by Comparing Field- and Current-Induced Switching

We achieve current-induced switching in collinear insulating antiferromagnetic CoO/Pt, with fourfold in-plane magnetic anisotropy. This is measured electrically by spin Hall magnetoresistance and confirmed by the magnetic field-induced spin-flop transition of the CoO layer. By applying current pulses and magnetic fields, we quantify the efficiency of the acting current-induced torques and estimate a current-field equivalence ratio of 4×10^{-11}  T A^{-1} m^{2}. The Neel vector final state (n⊥j) is in line with a thermomagnetoelastic switching mechanism for a negative magnetoelastic constant of the CoO.

Direct Imaging of Current-Induced Antiferromagnetic Switching Revealing a Pure Thermomagnetoelastic Switching Mechanism in NiO.

We unravel the origin of current-induced magnetic switching of insulating antiferromagnet/heavy metal systems. We utilize concurrent transport and magneto-optical measurements to image the switching of antiferromagnetic domains in specially engineered devices of NiO/Pt bilayers. Different electrical pulsing and device geometries reveal different final states of the switching with respect to the current direction. We can explain these through simulations of the temperature induced strain and we identify the thermomagnetoelastic switching mechanism combined with thermal excitations as the origin, in which the final state is defined by the strain distributions and heat is required to switch th…

Staggered magnetic nanowire devices for effective domain-wall pinning in racetrack memory

Domain-wall memory devices, in which the information is stored in nanowires, are expected to replace hard disk drives. A problem that remains to be solved in domain-wall memory is to pin the domain walls in a controllable manner at the nanometer scale using simple fabrication. We demonstrate the possibility to stabilize domain walls by making staggered nanowires. Controllable domain-wall movement is exhibited in permalloy nanowires using magnetic fields where the pinning field is about 10 mT. The pinning field and stability of the domain walls can be increased by adjusting the offset dimensions of the staggered nanowires. Domain-wall velocities of about 200 m/s are computed for the experime…

Electrical detection of the spin reorientation transition in antiferromagnetic TmFeO3 thin films by spin Hall magnetoresistance

$\mathrm{Tm}\mathrm{Fe}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ (TFO) is a canted antiferromagnet that undergoes a spin reorientation transition (SRT) with temperature between 82 and 94 K in single crystals. In this temperature region, the N\'eel vector continuously rotates from the crystallographic $c$ axis (below 82 K) to the $a$ axis (above 94 K). The SRT allows for a temperature control of distinct antiferromagnetic states without the need for a magnetic field, making it apt for applications working at terahertz frequencies. For device applications, thin films of TFO are required as well as an electrical technique for read-out of the magnetic state. Here, we demonstrate that orthorhombic TFO thin films can be…

Magnetic configurations in nanostructured Co2MnGa thin film elements

The magnetic configuration of nanostructured elements fabricated from thin films of the Heusler compound Co2MnGa was determined by high-resolution x-ray magnetic microscopy, and the magnetic properties of continuous Co2MnGa thin films were determined by magnetometry measurements. A four-fold magnetic anisotropy with an anisotropy constant of kJ m−3 was deduced, and x-ray microscopy measurements have shown that the nanostructured Co2MnGa elements exhibit reproducible magnetic states dominated by shape anisotropy, with a minor contribution from the magneto-crystalline anisotropy, showing that the spin structure can be tailored by judiciously choosing the geometry.

Local Domain-Wall Velocity Engineering via Tailored Potential Landscapes in Ferromagnetic Rings

One vein of spintronics research seeks to harness propagating magnetic domain walls for information processing. The authors engineer a potential landscape via local variations in a ring geometry, and image the motion of domain walls in rotating magnetic fields to quantify the contribution of the spatially varying potential to wall dynamics. Domain-wall velocity depends on ring width, being highest where the ring is widest, and such a potential thus could be selected to synchronize velocities and enable applications.

Full angular dependence of the spin Hall and ordinary magnetoresistance in epitaxial antiferromagnetic NiO(001)/Pt thin films

We report the observation of the three-dimensional angular dependence of the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in a bilayer of the epitaxial antiferromagnetic insulator NiO(001) and the heavy metal Pt, without any ferromagnetic element. The detected angular-dependent longitudinal and transverse magnetoresistances are measured by rotating the sample in magnetic fields up to 11 T, along three orthogonal planes (xy-, yz- and xz-rotation planes, where the z-axis is orthogonal to the sample plane). The total magnetoresistance has contributions arising from both the SMR and ordinary magnetoresistance. The onset of the SMR signal occurs between 1 and 3 T and no saturation is visible up to 11 T. Th…

Electroburning of few-layer graphene flakes, epitaxial graphene, and turbostratic graphene discs in air and under vacuum

Graphene-based electrodes are very promising for molecular electronics and spintronics. Here we report a systematic characterization of the electroburning (EB) process, leading to the formation of nanometer-spaced gaps, on different types of few-layer graphene (namely mechanically exfoliated graphene on SiO2, graphene epitaxially grown on the C-face of SiC and turbostratic graphene discs deposited on SiO2) under air and vacuum conditions. The EB process is found to depend on both the graphene type and on the ambient conditions. For the mechanically exfoliated graphene, performing EB under vacuum leads to a higher yield of nanometer-gap formation than working in air. Conversely, for graphene…

Tunable Superstructures of Dendronized Graphene Nanoribbons in Liquid Phase

In this Communication, we report the first synthesis of structurally well-defined graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) functionalized with dendritic polymers. The resultant GNRs possess grafting ratios of 0.59-0.68 for the dendrons of different generations. Remarkably, the precise 3D branched conformation of the grafted dendrons affords the GNRs unprecedented 1D supramolecular self-assembly behavior in tetrahydrofuran (THF), yielding nanowires, helices and nanofibers depending on the dimension of the dendrons. The GNR superstructures in THF exhibit near-infrared absorption with maxima between 650 and 700 nm, yielding an optical bandgap of 1.2-1.3 eV. Ultrafast photoconductivity analyses unveil that …

Strain-induced Shape Anisotropy in Antiferromagnetic Structures

We demonstrate how shape dependent strain can be used to control antiferromagnetic order in NiO Pt thin films. For rectangular elements patterned along the easy and hard magnetocrystalline anisotropy axes of our film, we observe different domain structures and we identify magnetoelastic interactions that are distinct for different domain configurations. We reproduce the experimental observations by modeling the magnetoelastic interactions, considering spontaneous strain induced by the domain configuration, as well as elastic strain due to the substrate and the shape of the patterns. This allows us to demonstrate and explain how the variation of the aspect ratio of rectangular elements can b…

Quantification of Competing Magnetic States and Switching Pathways in Curved Nanowires by Direct Dynamic Imaging.

For viable applications, spintronic devices based, for example, on domain wall motion need to be highly reliable with stable magnetization states and highly reproducible switching pathways transforming one state to another. The existence of multiple stable states and switching pathways in a system is a definitive barrier for device operation, yet rare and stochastic events are difficult to detect and understand. We demonstrate an approach to quantify competing magnetic states and stochastic switching pathways based on time-resolved scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis, applied to the technologically relevant control of vortex domain wall chirality via field and curvature …

Spin Currents injected electrically and thermally from highly spin polarized Co$_2$MnSi

We demonstrate the injection and detection of electrically and thermally generated spin currents probed in Co$_2$MnSi/Cu lateral spin valves. Devices with different electrode separations are patterned to measure the non-local signal as a function of the electrode spacing and we determine a relatively high effective spin polarization $\alpha$ of Co$_2$MnSi to be 0.63 and the spin diffusion length of Cu to be 500 nm at room temperature. The electrically generated non-local signal is measured as a function of temperature and a maximum signal is observed for a temperature of 80 K. The thermally generated non-local signal is measured as a function of current density and temperature in a second h…

Commensurability between Element Symmetry and the Number of Skyrmions Governing Skyrmion Diffusion in Confined Geometries

Magnetic skyrmions are topological magnetic structures, which exhibit quasi-particle properties and can show enhanced stability against perturbation from thermal noise. Recently, thermal Brownian diffusion of these quasi-particles has been found in continuous films and applications in unconventional computing have received significant attention, which however require structured elements. Thus, as the next necessary step, we here study skyrmion diffusion in confined geometries and find it to be qualitatively different: The diffusion is governed by the interplay between the total number of skyrmions and the structure geometry. In particular, we ascertain the effect of circular and triangular …

Role of B diffusion in the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction inTa/Co20Fe60B20/MgOnanowires

We report on current-induced domain wall motion in $\mathrm{Ta}/\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{o}}_{20}\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{60}{\mathrm{B}}_{20}/\mathrm{MgO}$ nanowires. Domain walls are observed to move against the electron flow when no magnetic field is applied, while a field along the nanowires strongly affects the domain wall motion velocity. A symmetric effect is observed for up-down and down-up domain walls. This indicates the presence of right-handed domain walls, due to a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) with a DMI coefficient $D=+0.06\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mJ}/{\mathrm{m}}^{2}$. The positive DMI coefficient is interpreted to be a consequence of B diffusion into the Ta bu…

Flexible Magnetoresistive Sensors for Guiding Cardiac Catheters

Cardiac catheterization is a procedure, in which a long thin tube that is called a “catheter” is inserted into the heart for diagnosis or treatment. Due to the excessive use of x-ray doses and contrast agents for orientation detection during the surgery, there is a need to find a better alternative. This paper presents magnetic tunnel junction sensors on flexible Si attached to the catheter tip for orientation detection during minimally invasive surgeries. Due to the small size of catheters, extreme minimization in terms of size, weight, thickness and power consumption is needed for any device implemented on it. The fabricated flexible magnetic tunnel junctions fulfill those requirements wi…

Efficient metallic spintronic emitters of ultrabroadband terahertz radiation

Terahertz electromagnetic radiation is extremely useful for numerous applications such as imaging and spectroscopy. Therefore, it is highly desirable to have an efficient table-top emitter covering the 1-to-30-THz window whilst being driven by a low-cost, low-power femtosecond laser oscillator. So far, all solid-state emitters solely exploit physics related to the electron charge and deliver emission spectra with substantial gaps. Here, we take advantage of the electron spin to realize a conceptually new terahertz source which relies on tailored fundamental spintronic and photonic phenomena in magnetic metal multilayers: ultrafast photo-induced spin currents, the inverse spin-Hall effect an…

Room temperature antiferromagnetic resonance and inverse spin-Hall voltage in canted antiferromagnets

We study theoretically and experimentally the spin pumping signals induced by the resonance of canted antiferromagnets with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and demonstrate that they can generate easily observable inverse spin-Hall voltages. Using a bilayer of hematite/heavy metal as a model system, we measure at room temperature the antiferromagnetic resonance and an associated inverse spin-Hall voltage, as large as in collinear antiferromagnets. As expected for coherent spin pumping, we observe that the sign of the inverse spin-Hall voltage provides direct information about the mode handedness as deduced by comparing hematite, chromium oxide and the ferrimagnet yttrium-iron garnet. Our r…

Magnetic states in low-pinning high-anisotropy material nanostructures suitable for dynamic imaging

We present magnetic domain states in a material configuration with high (perpendicular) magnetic anisotropy and particularly low magnetic pinning. This material, a B-doped Co/Pt multilayer configuration, exhibits a strong magnetic contrast in x-ray transmission experiments, making it apt for dynamic imaging with modern synchrotron techniques, providing high spatial and high temporal resolution simultaneously. By analyzing the static spin structures in nanodisks at variable external fields, we show that CoB/Pt multilayers exhibit low enough domain wall pinning to manipulate the domain pattern with weak stimuli and in particular to move domains and domain walls. We demonstrate in a proof-of-p…

Fine tuning of the magnetic properties in Mn3-Co Ga Heusler films near the critical regime

Abstract Tunability of structural and magnetic properties of Mn3-xCoxGa films is presented by Co substitution, where critical behavior emerges 0.37 ≤ x ≤ 0.56 exhibiting a transition from tetragonal hard ferrimagnetic with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) to a cubic soft ferrimagnetic phase with in-plane magnetic anisotropy (IMA). In the critical regime, coexisting state of tetragonal and cubic phases possesses significantly low coercive field (HC = 1.9 kOe) with relatively low saturation magnetization (MS = 100~150 emu/cc) while maintaining the PMA. From first-principles calculations, moments of two Mn sites do not change upon Co substitution. However, moments of substituted Co almo…

Localized domain wall nucleation dynamics in asymmetric ferromagnetic rings revealed by direct time-resolved magnetic imaging

We report time-resolved observations of field-induced domain wall nucleation in asymmetric ferromagnetic rings using single direction field pulses and rotating fields. We show that the asymmetric geometry of a ring allows for controlling the position of nucleation events, when a domain wall is nucleated by a rotating magnetic field. Direct observation by scanning transmission x-ray microscopy (STXM) reveals that the nucleation of domain walls occurs through the creation of transient ripplelike structures. This magnetization state is found to exhibit a surprisingly high reproducibility even at room temperature and we determine the combinations of field strengths and field directions that all…

Holographically aided iterative phase retrieval

Fourier transform holography (FTH) is a noise-resistant imaging technique which allows for nanometer spatial resolution x-ray imaging, where the inclusion of a small reference scattering object provides the otherwise missing phase information. With FTH, one normally requires a considerable distance between the sample and the reference to ensure spatial separation of the reconstruction and its autocorrelation. We demonstrate however that this requirement can be omitted at the small cost of iteratively separating the reconstruction and autocorrelation. In doing so, the photon efficiency of FTH can be increased due to a smaller illumination area, and we show how the presence of the reference p…

Skyrmion Hall effect revealed by direct time-resolved X-ray microscopy

Magnetic skyrmions are highly promising candidates for future spintronic applications such as skyrmion racetrack memories and logic devices. They exhibit exotic and complex dynamics governed by topology and are less influenced by defects, such as edge roughness, than conventionally used domain walls. In particular, their finite topological charge leads to a predicted "skyrmion Hall effect", in which current-driven skyrmions acquire a transverse velocity component analogous to charged particles in the conventional Hall effect. Here, we present nanoscale pump-probe imaging that for the first time reveals the real-time dynamics of skyrmions driven by current-induced spin orbit torque (SOT). We…

Synthesis of Graphene Nanoribbons by Ambient-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition and Device Integration

Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), quasi-one-dimensional graphene strips, have shown great potential for nanoscale electronics, optoelectronics, and photonics. Atomically precise GNRs can be "bottom-up" synthesized by surface-assisted assembly of molecular building blocks under ultra-high-vacuum conditions. However, large-scale and efficient synthesis of such GNRs at low cost remains a significant challenge. Here we report an efficient "bottom-up" chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process for inexpensive and high-throughput growth of structurally defined GNRs with varying structures under ambient-pressure conditions. The high quality of our CVD-grown GNRs is validated by a combination of different …

Geometrically enhanced closed-loop multi-turn sensor devices that enable reliable magnetic domain wall motion

We experimentally realize a sophisticated structure geometry for reliable magnetic domain wall-based multi-turn-counting sensor devices, which we term closed-loop devices that can sense millions of turns. The concept relies on the reliable propagation of domain walls through a cross-shaped intersection of magnetic conduits, allowing for the intertwining of loops of the sensor device. As a key step to reach the necessary reliability of the operation, we develop a combination of tilted wires called the syphon structure at the entrances of the cross. We measure the control and reliability of the domain wall propagation individually for cross-shaped intersections, the syphon geometries, and fin…

Anisotropic skyrmion diffusion controlled by magnetic-field-induced symmetry breaking

The diffusion of particles has wide repercussions, ranging from particle-based soft-matter systems to solid-state systems with particular electronic properties. Recently, in the field of magnetism, the diffusion of magnetic skyrmions, topologically stabilized quasiparticles, has been demonstrated. Here, we show that, by applying a magnetic in-plane field, and therefore, breaking the symmetry of the system, skyrmion diffusion becomes anisotropic, with faster diffusion parallel to the field axis and slower diffusion perpendicular to it. We furthermore show that the absolute value of the applied magnetic in-plane field controls the absolute values of the diffusion coefficients, so that one can…

Antiferromagnetic NiO thickness dependent sign of the spin Hall magnetoresistance in γ-Fe2O3/NiO/Pt epitaxial stacks

We study the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in epitaxial γ–Fe2O3/NiO(001)/Pt stacks, as a function of temperature and thickness of the antiferromagnetic insulating NiO layer. Upon increasing the thickness of NiO from 0 nm to 10 nm, we detect a sign change of the SMR in the temperature range between 10 K and 280 K. This temperature dependence of the SMR in our stacks is different compared to that of previously studied yttrium iron garnet/NiO/Pt, as we do not find any peak or sign change as a function of temperature. We explain our data by a combination of spin current reflection from both the NiO/Pt and γ-Fe2O3/NiO interfaces and the thickness-dependent exchange coupling mode between the …

Long-distance spin-transport across the Morin phase transition up to room temperature in ultra-low damping single crystals of the antiferromagnet α-Fe2O3

Antiferromagnetic materials can host spin-waves with polarizations ranging from circular to linear depending on their magnetic anisotropies. Until now, only easy-axis anisotropy antiferromagnets with circularly polarized spin-waves were reported to carry spin-information over long distances of micrometers. In this article, we report long-distance spin-transport in the easy-plane canted antiferromagnetic phase of hematite and at room temperature, where the linearly polarized magnons are not intuitively expected to carry spin. We demonstrate that the spin-transport signal decreases continuously through the easy-axis to easy-plane Morin transition, and persists in the easy-plane phase through …

Transition of laser-induced terahertz spin currents from torque- to conduction-electron-mediated transport

Spin transport is crucial for future spintronic devices operating at bandwidths up to the terahertz range. In F|N thin-film stacks made of a ferromagnetic/ferrimagnetic layer F and a normal-metal layer N, spin transport is mediated by (1) spin-polarized conduction electrons and/or (2) torque between electron spins. To identify a crossover from (1) to (2), we study laser-driven spin currents in F|Pt stacks where F consists of model materials with different degrees of electrical conductivity. For the magnetic insulators yttrium iron garnet, gadolinium iron garnet (GIG) and γ−Fe2O3, identical dynamics is observed. It arises from the terahertz interfacial spin Seebeck effect (SSE), is fully det…

Optimal ferromagnetically-coated carbon nanotube tips for ultra-high resolution magnetic force microscopy

Using single-walled carbon nanotubes homogeneously coated with ferromagnetic metal as ultra-high resolution magnetic force microscopy probes, we investigate the key image formation parameters and their dependence on coating thickness. The crucial step of introducing molecular beam epitaxy for deposition of the magnetic coating allows highly controlled fabrication of tips with small magnetic volume, while retaining high magnetic anisotropy and prolonged lifetime characteristics. Calculating the interaction between the tips and a magnetic sample, including hitherto neglected thermal noise effects, we show that optimal imaging is achieved for a finite, intermediate-thickness magnetic coating, …

Skyrmions and multi-sublattice helical states in a frustrated chiral magnet

We investigate the existence and stability of skyrmions in a frustrated chiral ferromagnet by considering the competition between ferromagnetic (FM) nearest-neighbour (NN) interaction ($J_1$) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) next-nearest-neighbour (NNN) interaction ($J_2$). Contrary to the general wisdom that long-range ferromagnetic order is not energy preferable under frustration, the skyrmion lattice not only exists but is even stable for a large field range when $J_2 \leq J_1$ compared with frustration-free systems. We defend that the enlargement of stability window of skyrmions is a consequence of the reduced effective exchange interaction caused by the frustration. A multi-sublattice helic…

Lateral Fusion of Chemical Vapor Deposited N = 5 Armchair Graphene Nanoribbons

Bottom-up synthesis of low-bandgap graphene nanoribbons with various widths is of great importance for their applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices. Here we demonstrate a synthesis of N = 5 armchair graphene nanoribbons (5-AGNRs) and their lateral fusion into wider AGNRs, by a chemical vapor deposition method. The efficient formation of 10- and 15- AGNRs is revealed by a combination of different spectroscopic methods, including Raman and UV−visnear-infrared spectroscopy as well as by scanning tunneling microscopy. The degree of fusion and thus the optical and electronic properties of the resulting GNRs can be controlled by the annealing temperature, providing GNR films with o…

Direct imaging of delayed magneto-dynamic modes induced by surface acoustic waves.

The magnetoelastic effect—the change of magnetic properties caused by the elastic deformation of a magnetic material—has been proposed as an alternative approach to magnetic fields for the low-power control of magnetization states of nanoelements since it avoids charge currents, which entail ohmic losses. Here, we have studied the effect of dynamic strain accompanying a surface acoustic wave on magnetic nanostructures in thermal equilibrium. We have developed an experimental technique based on stroboscopic X-ray microscopy that provides a pathway to the quantitative study of strain waves and magnetization at the nanoscale. We have simultaneously imaged the evolution of both strain and magne…

Spin transport across antiferromagnets induced by the spin Seebeck effect

For prospective spintronics devices based on the propagation of pure spin currents, antiferromagnets are an interesting class of materials that potentially entail a number of advantages as compared to ferromagnets. Here, we present a detailed theoretical study of magnonic spin current transport in ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic multilayers by using atomistic spin dynamics simulations. The relevant length scales of magnonic spin transport in antiferromagnets are determined. We demonstrate the transfer of angular momentum from a ferromagnet into an antiferromagnet due to the excitation of only one magnon branch in the antiferromagnet. As an experimental system, we ascertain the transport acr…

Magnetization switching behavior with competing anisotropies in epitaxial Co3FeN/MnN exchange-coupled bilayers

Orientation-dependent direct and inverse spin Hall effects in Co60Fe20B20

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…

Magnetic Direct-Write Skyrmion Nanolithography

Magnetic skyrmions are stable spin textures with quasi-particle behavior and attract significant interest in fundamental and applied physics. The metastability of magnetic skyrmions at zero magnetic field is particularly important to enable, for instance, a skyrmion racetrack memory. Here, the results of the nucleation of stable skyrmions and formation of ordered skyrmion lattices by magnetic force microscopy in (Pt/CoFeSiB/W)n multilayers, exploiting the additive effect of the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, are presented. The appropriate conditions under which skyrmion lattices are confined with a dense two-dimensional liquid phase are identified. A crucial parameter to con…

Electric field modification of magnetotransport in Ni thin films on (011) PMN-PT piezosubstrates

This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in Appl. Phys. Lett. 106, 062404 (2015) and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4907775 This study reports the magnetotransport and magnetic properties of 20 nm-thick polycrystalline Ni films deposited by magnetron sputtering on unpoled piezoelectric (011) [PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3]0.68-[PbTiO3]0.32 (PMN-PT) substrates. The longitudinal magnetoresistance (MR) of the Ni films on (011) PMN-PT, measured at room temperature in the magnetic field range of −0.3 T < μ0H < 0.3 T, is found to depend on the crystallographic direction and polarization state …

Ultrabroadband single-cycle terahertz pulses with peak fields of 300 kV cm-1 from a metallic spintronic emitter

To explore the capabilities of metallic spintronic thin-film stacks as a source of intense and broadband terahertz electromagnetic fields, we excite a W/CoFeB/Pt trilayer on a large-area glass substrate (diameter of 7.5 cm) by a femtosecond laser pulse (energy 5.5 mJ, duration 40 fs, wavelength 800 nm). After focusing, the emitted terahertz pulse is measured to have a duration of 230 fs, a peak field of 300 kV cm$^{-1}$ and an energy of 5 nJ. In particular, the waveform exhibits a gapless spectrum extending from 1 to 10 THz at 10% of amplitude maximum, thereby facilitating nonlinear control over matter in this difficult-to-reach frequency range and on the sub-picosecond time scale.

Reliable Propagation of Magnetic Domain Walls in Cross Structures for Advanced Multiturn Sensors

[EN] We develop and analyze an advanced concept for a domain-wall-based sensing of rotations. Moving domain walls in n closed loops with n - 1 intersecting convolutions by rotating fields, we are able to sense n rotations. By combining loops with coprime numbers of rotations, we create a sensor system allowing for the total counting of millions of turns of a rotating applied magnetic field. We analyze the operation of the sensor and identify the intersecting cross structures as the critical component for reliable operation. Specifically, depending on the orientation of the applied field angle with the magnetization in the branches of the cross, a domain wall is found to propagate in an unwa…

Manipulating antiferromagnets with magnetic fields: Ratchet motion of multiple domain walls induced by asymmetric field pulses

Future applications of antiferromagnets (AFs) in many spintronics devices rely on the precise manipulation of domain walls. The conventional approach using static magnetic fields is inefficient due to the low susceptibility of AFs. Recently proposed electrical manipulation with spin-orbit torques is restricted to metals with a specific crystal structure. Here we propose an alternative, broadly applicable approach: using asymmetric magnetic field pulses to induce controlled ratchet motion of AF domain walls. The efficiency of this approach is based on three peculiarities of AF dynamics. First, a time-dependent magnetic field couples with an AF order parameter stronger than a static magnetic …

Antiferromagnetic NiO thickness dependent sign of the spin Hall magnetoresistance in γ-Fe 2 O 3 /NiO/Pt epitaxial stacks

We study the spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) in epitaxial γ–Fe2O3/NiO(001)/Pt stacks, as a function of temperature and thickness of the antiferromagnetic insulating NiO layer. Upon increasing the thickness of NiO from 0 nm to 10 nm, we detect a sign change of the SMR in the temperature range between 10 K and 280 K. This temperature dependence of the SMR in our stacks is different compared to that of previously studied yttrium iron garnet/NiO/Pt, as we do not find any peak or sign change as a function of temperature. We explain our data by a combination of spin current reflection from both the NiO/Pt and γ-Fe2O3/NiO interfaces and the thickness-dependent exchange coupling mode between the …

Temperature-dependent magnetic anisotropy in the layered magnetic semiconductors CrI3 and CrBr3

Chromium trihalides are layered and exfoliable semiconductors and exhibit unusual magnetic properties with a surprising temperature dependence of the magnetization. By analyzing the evolution of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy with temperature in chromium iodide $\mathrm{Cr}{\mathrm{I}}_{3}$, we find it strongly changes from ${K}_{u}=300\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}50\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\mathrm{kJ}/{\mathrm{m}}^{3}$ at $5\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$ to ${K}_{u}=43\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}7\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\mathrm{kJ}/{\mathrm{m}}^{3}$ at $60\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$, close to the Curie temperature. We draw a direct comparison to $\mathrm{CrB}{\mathrm{r}}_…

Flexible MgO-Based Magnetic Tunnel Junctions on Silicon Substrate

Flexible electronic devices are emerging in many areas, providing novel features and creating new applications [1]. Due to their ubiquitous utilization, flexible magnetic sensors [2] play a critical part in this development. In particular, magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) are of great interest, because of advantages like low power consumption or high sensitivity. We report the development of flexible MTJs on a silicon substrate fabricated by a low-cost batch process [3]. Thereby, conventionally fabricated MTJ devices are transformed into flexible ones by thinning down the silicon wafer from 500 μm to 5 μm. This process leads to thin, bendable silicon devices, while maintaining their origina…

Thermal generation of spin current in epitaxial CoFe2O4 thin films

The longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE) has been investigated in high-quality epitaxial CoFe2O4 (CFO) thin films. The thermally excited spin currents in the CFO films are electrically detected in adjacent Pt layers due to the inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE). The LSSE signal exhibits a linear increase with increasing temperature gradient, yielding a LSSE coefficient of ~100 nV/K at room temperature. The temperature dependence of the LSSE is investigated from room temperature down to 30 K, showing a significant reduction at low temperatures, revealing that the total amount of thermally generated magnons decreases. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the spin Seebeck effect is an effective to…

Impact of the interplay of piezoelectric strain and current-induced heating on the field-like spin–orbit torque in perpendicularly magnetized Ta/Co20Fe60B20/Ta/MgO film

Spin–orbit torques (SOTs) are known to be the most efficient way to manipulate the magnetization direction by electrical currents. While, conventionally, one symmetry component of the SOTs, namely, the damping-like torque, was considered to play a primary role, recently, the significance of the other component, the field-like torque, has been revised, owing to the non-trivial dynamics it can induce in heavy metal/ferromagnet multilayers. In this work, we first discuss the unusual behavior of the field-like SOT in a Ta/CoFeB/Ta/MgO multilayer system with a reduced magnetic anisotropy and demonstrate an energy-efficient approach to manipulate the magnitude of the SOT effective fields. Finally…

Magnetic state control via field-angle-selective switching in asymmetric rings

Switching the chirality of the vortex state in asymmetric ferromagnetic rings is interesting for multistate memory devices, logic elements, and stray-field-based rotation sensors. This study shows that different magnetic states can be configured by carefully tuning the magnetic field angle. Using time-resolved scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis to image the magnetization dynamics of these rings, the authors detect competing switching pathways for certain field angles. These different pathways do not change the resulting magnetic states, though, which is advantageous for engineering reliable devices for a range of potential spintronic applications.

Generation of broadband THz transients via metallic spintronic emitters driven by 20-fs pulses at 1030 nm

We explore power and bandwidth scaling for the generation of highly-temporally-confined THz transients from spintronic emitters, driven by the 250-fs and 20-fs pulses of a high-power 28-MHz Yb-based laser, spectrally centered at 1030 nm.

Impact of Annealing Temperature on Tunneling Magnetoresistance Multilayer Stacks

The effect of annealing temperatures on the tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) of MgO-based magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) has been investigated for annealing between 190 and 370°C. The TMR shows a maximum value of 215% at an annealing temperature of 330°C. A strong sensitivity of the TMR and the exchange bias of the pinned ferromagnetic layers on the annealing temperature are observed. Depending on sensor application requirements, the MTJ can be optimized either for stability and pinning strength or for a high TMR signal by choosing the appropriate annealing temperature. The switching mechanism of the ferromagnetic layers in the MTJ and the influence of the annealing on the layer properties,…

Test of band structure calculations for Heusler compounds by spin-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

The electronic density of states of epitaxial thin films of the Heusler compound Co${}_{2}$MnGa is probed in situ by spin-resolved ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy. The experiments reveal several characteristic features in the intensity spectrum and a clear Fermi edge signature. A high spin polarization of $\ensuremath{\simeq}\phantom{\rule{-0.16em}{0ex}}55%$ at the Fermi edge is followed by a sign change at the binding energy of $\ensuremath{\simeq}$0.8 eV. Corresponding calculations of the band structure and the photoemission spectrum were performed employing a spin-polarized relativistic Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker code. Good agreement between the experimental data and calculations was …

Imaging Topological Spin Structures Using Light-Polarization and Magnetic Microscopy

We present an imaging modality that enables detection of magnetic moments and their resulting stray magnetic fields. We use wide-field magnetic imaging that employs a diamond-based magnetometer and has combined magneto-optic detection (e.g. magneto-optic Kerr effect) capabilities. We employ such an instrument to image magnetic (stripe) domains in multilayered ferromagnetic structures.

Strain-controlled domain wall injection into nanowires for sensor applications

We investigate experimentally the effects of externally applied strain on the injection of 180$^\circ$ domain walls (DW) from a nucleation pad into magnetic nanowires, as typically used for DW-based sensors. In our study the strain, generated by substrate bending, induces in the material a uniaxial anisotropy due to magnetoelastic coupling. To compare the strain effects, $Co_{40}Fe_{40}B_{20}$, $Ni$ and $Ni_{82}Fe_{18}$ samples with in-plane magnetization and different magnetoelastic coupling are deposited. In these samples, we measure the magnetic field required for the injection of a DW, by imaging differential contrast in a magneto-optical Kerr microscope. We find that strain increases t…

ELECTRICAL-FIELD CONTROL OF MAGNETISM MEDIATED BY STRAIN IN Ni NANOSTRUCTURES FABRICATED ON PRE-POLED PMN–PT (011)

We investigate the effects of piezoelectric-generated strain on the magnetization configuration of Ni nanostructures fabricated on pre-poled piezoelectric (011) [ Pb ( Mg 0.33 Nb 0.66) O 3]0.68–[ PbTiO 3]0.32 (PMN–PT) by high resolution X-ray microscopy. We observe a strong uniaxial anisotropy in the Ni nanostructures, due to the relaxation of the substrate following the deposition of the Ni . The anisotropy can be modified by the application of an electric field to the piezoelectric substrate (thus generating a piezoelectric strain in the system) through the magneto-elastic effect. By applying an electric field to the PMN–PT, the magnetization configuration in nanostructured Ni squares an…

Domain Wall Spin Structures in Mesoscopic Fe Rings probed by High Resolution SEMPA

We present a combined theoretical and experimental study of the energetic stability and accessibility of different domain wall spin configurations in mesoscopic magnetic iron rings. The evolution is investigated as a function of the width and thickness in a regime of relevance to devices, while Fe is chosen as a material due to its simple growth in combination with attractive magnetic properties including high saturation magnetization and low intrinsic anisotropy. Micromagnetic simulations are performed to predict the lowest energy states of the domain walls, which can be either the transverse or vortex wall spin structure, in good agreement with analytical models, with further simulations …

Hysteresis in graphene nanoribbon field-effect devices

Hysteresis in the current response to a varying gate voltage is a common spurious effect in carbon-based field effect transistors. Here, we use electric transport measurements to probe the charge transport in networks of armchair graphene nanoribbons with a width of either 5 or 9 carbon atoms, synthesized in a bottom-up approach using chemical vapor deposition. Our systematic study on the hysteresis of such graphene nanoribbon transistors, in conjunction with temperature-dependent transport measurements shows that the hysteresis can be fully accounted for by trapping/detrapping carriers in the SiO2 layer. We extract the trap densities and depth, allowing us to identify shallow traps as the …

Quantitative analysis of magnetization reversal in Ni thin films on unpoled and poled (0 1 1) [PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3]0.68–[PbTiO3]0.32piezoelectric substrates

The field angle dependence of the magnetization reversal in 20 nm thick polycrystalline Ni films grown on piezoelectric (0 1 1) [PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3](0.68)-[PbTiO3](0.32) (PMN-PT) substrates is analysed quantitatively to study the magnetic anisotropy induced in the film by poling the piezosubstrate. While the PMN-PT is in the unpoled state, the magnetization reversal is almost isotropic as expected from the polycrystalline nature of the film and corresponding to an orientation ratio (OR) of 1.2. The orientation ratio is obtained by fitting the angular dependence of normalized remanent magnetization to an adapted Stoner-Wohlfarth relation. Upon poling the piezosubstrate, a strong uniaxial anisotr…

Magnetization reversal of the domain structure in the anti-perovskite nitride Co3FeN investigated by high-resolution X-ray microscopy

We performed X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) photoemission electron microscopy imaging to reveal the magnetic domain structure of anti-perovskite nitride Co3FeN exhibiting a negative spin polarization. In square and disc patterns, we systematically and quantitatively determined the statistics of the stable states as a function of geometry. By direct imaging during the application of a magnetic field, we revealed the magnetic reversal process in a spatially resolved manner. We compared the hysteresis on the continuous area and the square patterns from the magnetic field-dependent XMCD ratio, which can be explained as resulting from the effect of the shape anisotropy, present in nano…

Enhanced Magneto-optic Kerr Effect and Magnetic Properties ofCeY2Fe5O12Epitaxial Thin Films

Integrated magneto-optical components require magnetic thin films for tuning of their parameters, and for many applications yttrium iron garnet (YIG) is the material of choice. The authors study high-quality cerium-substituted YIG thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition, which possess tunable magnetic anisotropy and a greatly enhanced magneto-optic Kerr effect, compared to conventional films. This discovery presents new opportunities for engineering tomorrow's magneto-optical and spintronic logic devices.

Dynamic domain wall chirality rectification by rotating magnetic fields

We report on the observation of magnetic vortex domain wall chirality reversal in ferromagnetic rings that is controlled by the sense of rotation of a magnetic field. We use time-resolved X-ray microscopy to dynamically image the chirality-switching process and perform micromagnetic simulations to deduce the switching details from time-resolved snapshots. We find experimentally that the switching occurs within less than 4 ns and is observed in all samples with ring widths ranging from 0.5 μm to 2 μm, ring diameters between 2 μm and 5 μm, and a thickness of 30 nm, where a vortex domain wall is present in the magnetic onion state of the ring. From the magnetic contrast in the time-resolved im…

Theory of domain-wall magnetoresistance in metallic antiferromagnets

We develop a theory to compute the domain-wall magnetoresistance (DWMR) in antiferromagnetic (AFM) metals with different spin structures. In the diffusive transport regime, the DWMR can be either {\it negative} or positive depending on the domain-wall orientation and spin structure. In contrast, when the transport is in the ballistic regime, the DWMR is always positive, and the magnitude depends on the width and orientation of the domain wall. Our results pave the way of using electrical measurements for probing the internal spin structure in antiferromagnetic metals.

Femtosecond formation dynamics of the spin Seebeck effect revealed by terahertz spectroscopy

Understanding the transfer of spin angular momentum is essential in modern magnetism research. A model case is the generation of magnons in magnetic insulators by heating an adjacent metal film. Here, we reveal the initial steps of this spin Seebeck effect with &lt;27fs time resolution using terahertz spectroscopy on bilayers of ferrimagnetic yttrium-iron garnet and platinum. Upon exciting the metal with an infrared laser pulse, a spin Seebeck current $j_\textrm{s}$ arises on the same ~100fs time scale on which the metal electrons thermalize. This observation highlights that efficient spin transfer critically relies on carrier multiplication and is driven by conduction electrons scattering …

Magnetoresistance effects in the metallic antiferromagnet Mn$_2$Au

In antiferromagnetic spintronics, it is essential to separate the resistance modifications of purely magnetic origin from other effects generated by current pulses intended to switch the N\'eel vector. We investigate the magnetoresistance effects resulting from magnetic field induced reorientations of the staggered magnetization of epitaxial antiferromagnetic Mn2Au(001) thin films. The samples were exposed to 60 T magnetic field pulses along different crystallographic in-plane directions of Mn2Au(001), while their resistance was measured. For the staggered magnetization aligned via a spin-flop transition parallel to the easy [110]-direction, an ansiotropic magnetoresistance of -0.15 % was m…

Magnetic skyrmions: from fundamental to applications

In this topical review, we will discuss recent advances in the field of skyrmionics (fundamental and applied aspects) mainly focusing on skyrmions that can be realized in thin film structures where an ultrathin ferromagnetic layer (&lt;1 nm) is coupled to materials with large spin-orbit coupling. We review the basic topological nature of the skyrmion spin structure that can entail a stabilization due to the chiral exchange interaction present in many multilayer systems with structural inversion asymmetry. The static spin structures and the dynamics of the skyrmions are also discussed. In particular, we show that skyrmions can be displaced with high reliability and efficiency as needed for t…

Unidirectional Spin Hall Magnetoresistance as a Tool for Probing the Interfacial Spin Polarization of Co2MnSi

Materials with high spin polarization, such as Heusler compounds, are required for efficient spintronics. The authors propose an approach to probe the transport spin polarization at interfaces, using the recently discovered unidirectional spin Hall magnetoresistance. They show that insertion of thin Ag(001) layers clearly increases the interfacial spin polarization of the Heusler compound Co${}_{2}$MnSi, which is crucial for giant-magnetoresistance devices.

Accessing the fundamentals of magnetotransport in metals with terahertz probes

Spin-dependent conduction in metals underlies all modern magnetic memory technologies, such as giant magnetoresistance (GMR). The charge current in ferromagnetic transition metals is carried by two non-mixing populations of sp-band Fermi-level electrons: one of majority-spin and one of minority-spin. These electrons experience spin-dependent momentum scattering with localized electrons, which originate from the spin-split d-band. The direct observation of magnetotransport under such fundamental conditions, however, requires magnetotransport measurements on the same timescale as the electron momentum scattering, which takes place in the sub-100 fs regime. Using terahertz electromagnetic prob…

Data for the article "Long-distance spin-transport across the Morin phase transition up to room temperature in the ultra-low damping alpha-Fe2O3 antiferromagnet"

Data for experimental magneto-transport and resonance measurements for the article " Long-distance spin-transport across the Morin phase transition up to room temperature in the ultra-low damping α-Fe2O3 antiferromagnet " (https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.14414)

Data of the article "Efficient spin torques in antiferromagnetic CoO/Pt quantified by comparing field- and current- induced switching"

Data for experimental transport measurements and analytical calculations for the article "Efficient spin torques in antiferromagnetic CoO/Pt quantified by comparing field- and current- induced switching" (https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.05923)

CCDC 1521825: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: Zongping Chen, Wen Zhang, Carlos-Andres Palma, Alberto Lodi Rizzini, Bilu Liu, Ahmad Abbas, Nils Richter, Leonardo Martini, Xiao-Ye Wang, Nicola Cavani, Hao Lu, Neeraj Mishra, Camilla Coletti, Reinhard Berger, Florian Klappenberger, Mathias Kläui, Andrea Candini, Marco Affronte, Chongwu Zhou, Valentina De Renzi, Umberto del Pennino, Johannes V. Barth, Hans Joachim Räder, Akimitsu Narita, Xinliang Feng, and Klaus Müllen|2016|J.Am.Chem.Soc.|138|15488|doi:10.1021/jacs.6b10374

Data for the article "Magnetic Sensitivity Distribution of Hall Devices in Antiferromagnetic Switching Experiments"

Data for the article "Magnetic Sensitivity Distribution of Hall Devices in Antiferromagnetic Switching Experiments" URL: https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.16.064023 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevApplied.16.064023

Data for the article "Strain-induced shape anisotropy in antiferromagnetic structures"

Data for the article "Strain-induced shape anisotropy in antiferromagnetic structures" URL: https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.106.094430 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.106.094430

Data for the article "Concurrent magneto-optical imaging and magneto-transport readout of electrical switching of insulating antiferromagnetic thin films"

Data for experimental transport measurements and optical imaging for the article "Concurrent magneto-optical imaging and magneto-transport readout of electrical switching of insulating antiferromagnetic thin films" (https://arxiv.org/abs/2004.13374).