A. Puzic

Magnetic vortex core reversal by excitation with short bursts of an alternating field

The vortex state, characterized by a curling magnetization, is one of the equilibrium configurations of soft magnetic materials and occurs in thin ferromagnetic square and disk-shaped elements of micrometre size and below. The interplay between the magnetostatic and the exchange energy favours an in-plane, closed flux domain structure. This curling magnetization turns out of the plane at the centre of the vortex structure, in an area with a radius of about 10 nanometres—the vortex core. The vortex state has a specific excitation mode: the in-plane gyration of the vortex structure about its equilibrium position. The sense of gyration is determined by the vortex core polarization. Here we report on the controlled manipulation of the vortex core polarization by excitation with small bursts of an alternating magnetic field. The vortex motion was imaged by time-resolved scanning transmission X-ray microscopy. We demonstrate that the sense of gyration of the vortex structure can be reversed by applying short bursts of the sinusoidal excitation field with amplitude of about 1.5 mT. This reversal unambiguously indicates a switching of the out-of-plane core polarization. The observed switching mechanism, which can be understood in the framework of micromagnetic theory, gives insights into basic magnetization dynamics and their possible application in data storage.

Time-resolved X-ray microscopy of spin-torque-induced magnetic vortex gyration

Time-resolved x-ray microscopy is used to image the influence of alternating high-density currents on the magnetization dynamics of ferromagnetic vortices. Spin-torque-induced vortex gyration is observed in micrometer-sized permalloy squares. The phases of the gyration in structures with different chirality are compared to an analytical model and micromagnetic simulations, considering both alternating spin-polarized currents and the currents Oersted field. In our case the driving force due to spin-transfer torque is about 70% of the total excitation while the remainder originates from the currents Oersted field. This finding has implications to magnetic storage devices using spin-torque driven magnetization switching and domain-wall motion.

Spatially resolved ferromagnetic resonance: Imaging of ferromagnetic eigenmodes

Fast magnetization dynamics of ferromagnetic elements on sub-micron length scales is currently attracting substantial scientific interest. Studying the ferromagnetic eigenmodes in such systems provides valuable information in order to trace back the dynamical response to the underlying micromagnetic properties. The inherent time structure of third generation synchrotron sources allows for time-resolved imaging (time resolution: 70–100 ps) of magnetization dynamics at soft x-ray microscopes (lateral resolution down to 20 nm). Stroboscopic pump-and-probe experiments were performed on micron-sized Permalloy samples at a full-field magnetic transmission x-ray microscope (XM-1, beamline 6.1.2) at the ALS at Berkeley, CA. Complementary to these time-domain experiments a frequency-domain “spatially resolved ferromagnetic resonance” (SR-FMR) technique was applied to magnetic x-ray microscopy. In contrast to time-domain measurements which reflect a broadband excitation of the magnetization, the frequency-domain SR...

Vortex dynamics in coupled ferromagnetic multilayer structures

Magnetization dynamics in ferromagnetic multilayer structures was studied by time-resolved transmission x-ray microscopy. A square-shaped 1×1μm2 trilayer structure consisting of Co(20nm)∕Cu(10nm)∕Permalloy Ni80Fe20(20nm) was investigated. Each ferromagnetic layer showed a Landau-like domain configuration with a single vortex. A gyrotropic vortex motion was excited by an in-plane magnetic field alternating at a frequency of 250 MHz. The movement of the magnetic vortex in each individual magnetic layer was imaged by taking advantage of the element specificity of the x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. A 180° phase shift between the gyrotropic vortex motion in the Permalloy and the Co layer was observed. This phase shift can be ascribed to the magnetic coupling between the layers.

Direct observation of the vortex core magnetization and its dynamics

Square-shaped thin film structures with a single magnetic vortex were investigated using a scanning transmission x-ray microscope. The authors report on the direct observation of the vortex core in 500×500nm2, 40nm thick soft magnetic Ni–Fe samples. The static configuration of the vortex core was imaged as well as the gyrotropic motion of the core under excitation with an in-plane alternating magnetic field. This enabled them to directly visualize the direction of the out-of-plane magnetization in the vortex core (up or down). The reversal of the core was effected by short bursts of an alternating magnetic field. An asymmetry appears in the core’s trajectory for its orientation pointing up and down, respectively.

Vortex dynamics in Permalloy disks with artificial defects: suppression of the gyrotropic mode

The dynamics of magnetic vortices in thin Permalloy disks having artificial defects in the form of small holes at different locations within the disk has been investigated by means of frequency-domain spatially resolved ferromagnetic resonance. It is found that the vortex can be effectively captured by such a defect. Consequently the commonly observed gyrotropic vortex motion in an applied microwave field of 1mT is suppressed. However, if in addition a static magnetic field of at least 4.3mT is applied, the vortex core is nucleated from the artificial defect and a modified gyrotropic motion starts again.

Photon Counting System for Time-resolved Experiments in Multibunch Mode

Photon Counting System for Time-resolved Experiments in Multibunch Mode Aleksandar Puzic a; Timo Korhonen a; Babak Kalantari a; Jörg Raabe a; Christoph Quitmann a; Patrick Jüllig b; Lars Bommer b; Dagmar Goll b; Gisela Schütz b; Sebastian Wintz c; Thomas Strache c; Michael Körner c; Daniel Markó c; Chris Bunce c;Jürgen Fassbender c a Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, Switzerland b Max-Planck-Institut fŸr Metallforschung, Stuttgart, Germany c Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany

Imaging sub‐ns spin dynamics in magnetic nanostructures with Magnetic Transmission X‐ray microscopy

Magnetic transmission soft X‐ray microscopy combining a 20nm lateral resolution with element‐specific magnetic contrast was used in a stroboscopic pump‐and‐probe scheme to study spin dynamics in magnetic nanostructures. The pump is a short (rise time <100psec) field pulse up to 100Oe to the sample generated by an electronic pulse into a microcoil and the probe is the flash of the circularly polarized X‐ray beam at the ALS with a pulse width of about 70psec, which was delayed up to 2000psec (after the pump). Results obtained at the Fe L3 edge with 4×4μm2 squared and 50nm thin permalloy elements indicate local variations of the time varying domain pattern indicatint different local precessional frequencies. The experimental findings are consistent with micromagnetic simulations and time dependent Kerr microscopy results.

Investigation of Electromigration in Copper Interconnects by Noise Measurements

Electromigration in sub-micron conductors of Cu and CuAl was studied by 1/f noise measurements for the first time. 1/f noise can serve as a very sensitive indicator for electromigration damage: The 1/f noise level is increased by up to two orders of magnitude whereas the resistance of the damaged interconnects is enhanced by less than a factor of two only. The most striking advantage of the 1/f noise measurement technique compared to the methods frequently used at present for electromigration studies (e.g., the Median Time of Failure, MTF technique) is that it is possible to determine the distribution of the activation energies of the processes involved from a single sample at progressive electromigration damaging. In Cu interconnects a strong increase in the number of mobile defects is observed during electromigration damaging whereas the shape of the distribution of the activation energies (maximum between 0.8 and 0.95 eV) does not change much, except shortly before the failure of the interconnect lines where a shift to higher activation energies (maximum: 1.05 eV) is measured. Significantly higher activation energies observed in undamaged and electromigration damaged CuAl0.5wt% interconnects indicate an advanced resistance of CuAl alloys to electromigration when compared to pure Cu lines.

Imaging sub-ns spin dynamics with transmission X-ray microscopy

In this paper, we have studied spin dynamics by X-ray microscopy using the inherent pulsed time structure of 3/sup rd/ generation synchrotrons in a stroboscopic pump-probe experiment. The results obtained with patterned permalloy elements were consistent with micromagnetic simulations.