Chiara Ciccarelli

Electrical manipulation of ferromagnetic NiFe by antiferromagnetic IrMn

We demonstrate that an antiferromagnet can be employed for a highly efficient electrical manipulation of a ferromagnet. In our study, we use an electrical detection technique of the ferromagnetic resonance driven by an in-plane ac current in a NiFe/IrMn bilayer. At room temperature, we observe antidampinglike spin torque acting on the NiFe ferromagnet, generated by an in-plane current driven through the IrMn antiferromagnet. A large enhancement of the torque, characterized by an effective spin-Hall angle exceeding most heavy transition metals, correlates with the presence of the exchange-bias field at the NiFe/IrMn interface. It highlights that, in addition to the strong spin-orbit coupling, the antiferromagnetic order in IrMn governs the observed phenomenon.

Uniaxial anisotropy of two-magnon scattering in an ultrathin epitaxial Fe layer on GaAs

We report an on-chip, electrically detected ferromagnetic resonance study on microbars made from GaAs/Fe(1 nm)/GaAs layers. Our experiments, performed at several different microwave frequencies and static magnetic field directions, enable us to observe a strong in-plane uniaxial anisotropy of the linewidth. We attribute the linewidth anisotropy to the two magnon scattering process, supporting this by calculations of possible linewidth broadening mechanisms. Our findings are useful for designing future high-performance spintronic devices based on nanoscale magnetic structures.

Dynamics of skyrmionic states in confined helimagnetic nanostructures

In confined helimagnetic nanostructures, skyrmionic states in the form of incomplete and isolated skyrmion states can emerge as the ground state in absence of both external magnetic field and magnetocrystalline anisotropy. In this work, we study the dynamic properties (resonance frequencies and corresponding eigenmodes) of skyrmionic states in thin film FeGe disk samples. We employ two different methods in finite-element based micromagnetic simulation: eigenvalue and ringdown method. The eigenvalue method allows us to identify all resonance frequencies and corresponding eigenmodes that can exist in the simulated system. However, using a particular experimentally feasible excitation can excite only a limited set of eigenmodes. Because of that, we perform ringdown simulations that resemble the experimental setup using both in-plane and out-of-plane excitations. In addition, we report the nonlinear dependence of resonance frequencies on the external magnetic bias field and disk sample diameter and discuss the possible reversal mode of skyrmionic states. We compare the power spectral densities of incomplete skyrmion and isolated skyrmion states and observe several key differences that can contribute to the experimental identification of the state present in the sample. We measure the FeGe Gilbert damping, and using its value we determine what eigenmodes can be expected to be observed in experiments. Finally, we show that neglecting the demagnetisation energy contribution or ignoring the magnetisation variation in the out-of-film direction -- although not changing the eigenmodes magnetisation dynamics significantly -- changes their resonance frequencies substantially. Apart from contributing to the understanding of skyrmionic states physics, this systematic work can be used as a guide for the experimental identification of skyrmionic states in confined helimagnetic nanostructures.

Magnonic charge pumping via spin-orbit coupling.

The interplay between spin, charge and orbital degrees of freedom has led to the development of spintronic devices such as spin-torque oscillators and spin-transfer torque magnetic random-access memories. In this development, spin pumping represents a convenient way to electrically detect magnetization dynamics. The effect originates from direct conversion of low-energy quantized spin waves in the magnet, known as magnons, into a flow of spins from the precessing magnet to adjacent leads. In this case, a secondary spin-charge conversion element, such as heavy metals with large spin Hall angle or multilayer layouts, is required to convert the spin current into a charge signal. Here, we report the experimental observation of charge pumping in which a precessing ferromagnet pumps a charge current, demonstrating direct conversion of magnons into high-frequency currents via the relativistic spin-orbit interaction. The generated electric current, unlike spin currents generated by spin-pumping, can be directly detected without the need of any additional spin-charge conversion mechanism. The charge-pumping phenomenon is generic and gives a deeper understanding of its reciprocal effect, the spin orbit torque, which is currently attracting interest for their potential in manipulating magnetic information.

Impedance of the single-electron transistor at radio-frequencies

We experimentally characterize the impedance of a single-electron transistor (SET) at an excitation frequency comparable to the electron tunnel rate. In contrast to usual radio-frequency-SET operations, the excitation signal is applied to the gate of the device. At zero source–drain bias, the SET displays both resistive (Sisyphus resistance) and reactive (tunnelling capacitance) components to its impedance. We study the bias dependence of the complex impedance, investigating its response as the electron tunnel rate becomes large with respect to the driving frequency. The experimental data are compared with values calculated from a master equation model.

Room-temperature spin–orbit torque in NiMnSb

Materials that crystalize in diamond-related lattices, with Si and GaAs as their prime examples, are at the foundation of modern electronics. Simultaneously, the two atomic sites in the unit cell of these crystals form inversion partners which gives rise to relativistic non-equilibrium spin phenomena highly relevant for magnetic memories and other spintronic devices. When the inversion-partner sites are occupied by the same atomic species, electrical current can generate local spin polarization with the same magnitude and opposite sign on the two inversion-partner sites. In CuMnAs, which shares this specific crystal symmetry of the Si lattice, the effect led to the demonstration of electrical switching in an antiferromagnetic memory at room temperature. When the inversion-partner sites are occupied by different atoms, a non-zero global spin-polarization is generated by the applied current which can switch a ferro-magnet, as reported at low temperatures in the diluted magnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As. Here we demonstrate the effect of the global current-induced spin polarization in a counterpart crystal-symmetry material NiMnSb which is a member of the broad family of magnetic Heusler compounds. It is an ordered high-temperature ferromagnetic metal whose other favorable characteristics include high spin-polarization and low damping of magnetization dynamics. Our experiments are performed on strained single-crystal epilayers of NiMnSb grown on InGaAs. By performing all-electrical ferromagnetic resonance measurements in microbars patterned along different crystal axes we detect room-temperature spin-orbit torques generated by effective fields of the Dresselhaus symmetry. The measured magnitude and symmetry of the current-induced torques are consistent with our relativistic density-functional theory calculations.

Gate controlled magnetoresistance in a silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect-transistor

We present a study of the magnetoresistance (MR) of a Si metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect-transistor (MOSFET) at the break-down regime when a magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the plane of the device. We have identified two different regimes where we observe a large and gate-voltage dependent MR. We suggest two different mechanisms which can explain the observed high MR. Moreover, we have studied how the MR of the MOSFET scales with the dimensions of the channel for gate voltages below the threshold. We observed a decrease in the MR by two orders of magnitude by reducing the dimensions of the channel from 50×280 μm2 to 5×5 μm2.

Spin gating electrical current

The level of the chemical potential is a fundamental parameter of the electronic structure of a physical system, which consequently plays an important role in defining the properties of active electrical devices. We directly measure the chemical potential shift in the relativistic band structure of the ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As, controlled by changes in its magnetic order parameter. Our device comprises a non-magnetic aluminum single electron channel capacitively coupled to the (Ga,Mn)As gate electrode. The chemical potential shifts of the gate are directly read out from the shifts in the Coulomb blockade oscillations of the single electron transistor. The experiments introduce a concept of spin gating electrical current. In our spin transistor spin manipulation is completely removed from the electrical current carrying channel.

Enhanced spin pumping into superconductors provides evidence for superconducting pure spin currents

Unlike conventional spin-singlet Cooper pairs, spin-triplet pairs can carry spin1,2. Triplet supercurrents were discovered in Josephson junctions with metallic ferromagnet spacers, where spin transport can occur only within the ferromagnet and in conjunction with a charge current. Ferromagnetic resonance injects a pure spin current from a precessing ferromagnet into adjacent non-magnetic materials3,4. For spin-singlet pairing, the ferromagnetic resonance spin pumping efficiency decreases below the critical temperature (Tc) of a coupled superconductor5,6. Here we present ferromagnetic resonance experiments in which spin sink layers with strong spin–orbit coupling are added to the superconductor. Our results show that the induced spin currents, rather than being suppressed, are substantially larger in the superconducting state compared with the normal state; although further work is required to establish the details of the spin transport process, we show that this cannot be mediated by quasiparticles and is most likely a triplet pure spin supercurrent.Ferromagnetic resonance experiments show enhanced spin pumping in superconductors in the presence of spin sink layers.

Spin-photo-currents generated by femtosecond laser pulses in a ferrimagnetic gdfeco/pt bilayer

Using THz emission spectroscopy, we detect spin-photo-currents from a ferrimagnetic amorphous alloy GdFeCo to an adjacent Pt capping layer. The currents are generated upon excitation of a GdFeCo/Pt heterostructure with femtosecond laser pulses. It is found that the polarization of the spin-polarized current is determined by magnetic sublattice sensitivity rather than the total magnetization, allowing for spin-polarized current generation when the net magnetization is zero.