B Bert Koopmans

Domain wall depinning governed by the spin Hall effect

Perpendicularly magnetized materials have attracted significant interest owing to their high anisotropy, which gives rise to extremely narrow, nanosized domain walls. As a result, the recently studied current-induced domain wall motion (CIDWM) in these materials promises to enable a new class of data, memory and logic devices. Here we propose the spin Hall effect as an alternative mechanism for CIDWM. We are able to carefully tune the net spin Hall current in depinning experiments on Pt/Co/Pt nanowires, offering unique control over CIDWM. Furthermore, we determine that the depinning efficiency is intimately related to the internal structure of the domain wall, which we control by the application of small fields along the nanowire. This manifestation of CIDWM offers an attractive degree of freedom for manipulating domain wall motion by charge currents, and sheds light on the existence of contradicting reports on CIDWM in perpendicularly magnetized materials.

Explaining the paradoxical diversity of ultrafast laser-induced demagnetization

Pulsed-laser-induced quenching of ferromagnetic order has intrigued researchers since pioneering works in the 1990s. It was reported that demagnetization in gadolinium proceeds within 100 ps, but three orders of magnitude faster in ferromagnetic transition metals such as nickel. Here we show that a model based on electron-phonon-mediated spin-flip scattering explains both timescales on equal footing. Our interpretation is supported by ab initio estimates of the spin-flip scattering probability, and experimental fluence dependencies are shown to agree perfectly with predictions. A phase diagram is constructed in which two classes of laser-induced magnetization dynamics can be distinguished, where the ratio of the Curie temperature to the atomic magnetic moment turns out to have a crucial role. We conclude that the ultrafast magnetization dynamics can be well described disregarding highly excited electronic states, merely considering the thermalized electron system.

Shift registers based on magnetic domain wall ratchets with perpendicular anisotropy

The movement of magnetic domain walls can be used to build a device known as a shift register, which has applications in memory and logic circuits. However, the application of magnetic domain wall shift registers has been hindered by geometrical restrictions, by randomness in domain wall displacement and by the need for high current densities or rotating magnetic fields. Here, we propose a new approach in which the energy landscape experienced by the domain walls is engineered to favour a unidirectional ratchet-like propagation. The domain walls are defined between domains with an out-of-plane (perpendicular) magnetization, which allows us to route domain walls along arbitrary in-plane paths using a time-varying applied magnetic field with fixed orientation. In addition, this ratchet-like motion causes the domain walls to lock to discrete positions along these paths, which is useful for digital devices. As a proof-of-principle experiment we demonstrate the continuous propagation of two domain walls along a closed-loop path in a platinum/cobalt/platinum strip.

Electric-field control of domain wall motion in perpendicularly magnetized materials

Domain wall motion in materials exhibiting perpendicular magnetic anisotropy has been the subject of intensive research because of its large potential for future spintronic devices. Recently, it has been shown that perpendicular anisotropy of thin films can be influenced by electric fields. Voltage-controlled magnetic switching has already been realized, which is envisioned to lead to low-power logic and memory devices. Here we demonstrate a radically new application of this effect, namely control of domain wall motion by electric fields. We show that an applied voltage perpendicular to a Co or CoB wire can significantly increase or decrease domain wall velocities. Velocity modification over an order of magnitude is demonstrated (from 0.4 to 4 μm s(-1)), providing a first step towards electrical control of domain wall devices. This opens up possibilities of real-time and local control of domain wall motion by electric fields at extremely low power cost.

Interface-induced phenomena in magnetism

This article reviews static and dynamic interfacial effects in magnetism, focusing on interfacially-driven magnetic effects and phenomena associated with spin-orbit coupling and intrinsic symmetry breaking at interfaces. It provides a historical background and literature survey, but focuses on recent progress, identifying the most exciting new scientific results and pointing to promising future research directions. It starts with an introduction and overview of how basic magnetic properties are affected by interfaces, then turns to a discussion of charge and spin transport through and near interfaces and how these can be used to control the properties of the magnetic layer. Important concepts include spin accumulation, spin currents, spin transfer torque, and spin pumping. An overview is provided to the current state of knowledge and existing review literature on interfacial effects such as exchange bias, exchange spring magnets, spin Hall effect, oxide heterostructures, and topological insulators. The article highlights recent discoveries of interface-induced magnetism and non-collinear spin textures, non-linear dynamics including spin torque transfer and magnetization reversal induced by interfaces, and interfacial effects in ultrafast magnetization processes.

Thickness dependence of the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction in inversion symmetry broken systems

In magnetic multilayer systems, a large spin-orbit coupling at the interface between heavy metals and ferromagnets can lead to intriguing phenomena such as the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, the spin Hall effect, the Rashba effect, and especially the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya (IDM) interaction. This interfacial nature of the IDM interaction has been recently revisited because of its scientific and technological potential. Here we demonstrate an experimental technique to straightforwardly observe the IDM interaction, namely Brillouin light scattering. The non-reciprocal spin wave dispersions, systematically measured by Brillouin light scattering, allow not only the determination of the IDM energy densities beyond the regime of perpendicular magnetization but also the revelation of the inverse proportionality with the thickness of the magnetic layer, which is a clear signature of the interfacial nature. Altogether, our experimental and theoretical approaches involving double time Greens function methods open up possibilities for exploring magnetic hybrid structures for engineering the IDM interaction.

Magnetization dynamics and Gilbert damping in ultrathin Co48Fe32B20 films with out-of-plane anisotropy

Time resolved magneto-optical Kerr measurements are carried out to study the precessional dynamics of ferromagnetic thin films with out-of-plane anisotropy. A combined analysis of parameters, such as coercive fields, magnetic anisotropy, and Gilbert damping α, is reported. Using a macrospin approximation and the Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equation, the effective anisotropy and α are obtained. A large damping varying with the applied field as well as with the thickness of the ferromagnetic layer is reported. Simulations using a distribution in the effective anisotropy allow us to reproduce the field evolution of α. Moreover, its thickness dependence correlates with the spin pumping effect.

Field-free magnetization reversal by spin-Hall effect and exchange bias

As the first magnetic random access memories are finding their way onto the market, an important issue remains to be solved: the current density required to write magnetic bits becomes prohibitively high as bit dimensions are reduced. Recently, spin–orbit torques and the spin-Hall effect in particular have attracted significant interest, as they enable magnetization reversal without high current densities running through the tunnel barrier. For perpendicularly magnetized layers, however, the technological implementation of the spin-Hall effect is hampered by the necessity of an in-plane magnetic field for deterministic switching. Here we interface a thin ferromagnetic layer with an anti-ferromagnetic material. An in-plane exchange bias is created and shown to enable field-free S HE-driven magnetization reversal of a perpendicularly magnetized Pt/Co/IrMn structure. Aside from the potential technological implications, our experiment provides additional insight into the local spin structure at the ferromagnetic/anti-ferromagnetic interface.

A two-site bipolaron model for organic magnetoresistance

The recently proposed bipolaron model for large “organic magnetoresistance” (OMAR) at room temperature is extended to an analytically solvable two-site scheme. It is shown that even this extremely simplified approach reproduces some of the key features of OMAR, viz., the possibility to have both positive and negative magnetoresistance, as well as its universal line shapes. Specific behavior and limiting cases are discussed. Extensions of the model, to guide future experiments and numerical Monte Carlo studies, are suggested.

Plasmonic distributed feedback lasers at telecommunications wavelengths

We investigate electrically pumped, distributed feedback (DFB) lasers, based on gap-plasmon mode metallic waveguides. The waveguides have nano-scale widths below the diffraction limit and incorporate vertical groove Bragg gratings. These metallic Bragg gratings provide a broad bandwidth stop band (~500 nm) with grating coupling coefficients of over 5000/cm. A strong suppression of spontaneous emission occurs in these Bragg grating cavities, over the stop band frequencies. This strong suppression manifests itself in our experimental results as a near absence of spontaneous emission and significantly reduced lasing thresholds when compared to similar length Fabry-Pérot waveguide cavities. Furthermore, the reduced threshold pumping requirements permits us to show strong line narrowing and super linear light current curves for these plasmon mode devices even at room temperature.