Eric Montoya

Enhanced spin pumping at yttrium iron garnet/Au interfaces

Spin injection across the ferrimagnetic insulator yttrium iron garnet (YIG)/normal metal Au interface was studied using ferromagnetic resonance. The spin mixing conductance was determined by comparing the Gilbert damping parameter α in YIG/Au and YIG/Au/Fe heterostructures. The main purpose of this study was to correlate the spin pumping efficiency with chemical modifications of the YIG film surface using in situ etching and deposition techniques. By means of Ar+ ion beam etching, one is able to increase the spin mixing conductance at the YIG/Au interface by a factor of 5 compared to the untreated YIG/Au interface.

Exchange stiffness in thin film Co alloys

The exchange stiffness (A(ex)) is one of the key parameters controlling magnetization reversal in magnetic materials. We used a method based on the spin spiral formation in two ferromagnetic films ...

A method for measuring exchange stiffness in ferromagnetic films

An exchange stiffness, A(ex), in ferromagnetic films is obtained by fitting the M(H) dependence of two ferromagnetic layers antiferromagnetically coupled across a nonmagnetic spacer layer with a si ...

Spin dynamics and magnetic anisotropies at the Fe/GaAs(001) interface

20Au/(d)Fe/GaAs(001) structures were deposited using molecular beam epitaxy, where Fe thickness d = (5...90) atomic layers. Interface anisotropies were investigated using the in-plane angular dependence of ferromagnetic resonance (FMR). Intrinsic and extrinsic contributions to magnetic damping were investigated using FMR linewidth (ΔH) measurements at 9, 24, 36, and 72 GHz (in-plane configuration) and 9, 24, and 36 GHz (perpendicular configuration). The in-plane cubic and uniaxial perpendicular anisotropies were well described by the bulk and interface contributions indicating that the Fe films have a high lattice coherence and high critical Curie temperature Tc. The in-plane uniaxial anisotropy is more complex and will be discussed in detail. The frequency dependence of ΔH(f) was analyzed using the Gilbert damping, two magnon scattering, and long range magnetic inhomogeneity contributions. The thickness dependence of the Gilbert damping parameter α was found to be well described by the bulk and interface...

Spin transport in Au films: An investigation by spin pumping

The thickness and temperature dependence of spin transport in Au has been investigated in multilayer films via the spin pumping effect. To study spin transport in Au, single layer GaAs/16Fe/(d)Au(001) and double layer GaAs/16Fe/(d)Au/12Fe/20Au(001) were investigated using ferromagnetic resonance (FMR), where d = 20, 300, and the numerals preceding Fe and Au indicate the layer thickness in atomic layers (AL). FMR measurements were performed at frequencies ranging from 27.3 to 40.6 GHz and at temperatures ranging from 88 to 295 K. By measuring the total Gilbert damping in the 16Fe layer as a function of d and temperature for both single and double magnetic layer structures and by utilizing the spin diffusion equation, one is able to determine the spin mixing conductance, g↑↓, at the Fe/Au interface, and the spin flip relaxation time, τsf, in Au as a function of temperature. The temperature dependence of the momentum relaxation time, τm, in Au was measured independently by means of electron transport measure...

Interface magnetism of iron grown on sulfur and hydrogen passivated GaAs(001)

Sulfur (S) and hydrogen (H) atom passivated GaAs(001) templates were used for deposition of ultrathin crystalline Fe films using molecular beam epitaxy, where the Fe thickness ranged from 10 to 45 atomic layers. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction patterns showed that the S- and H-passivated surfaces had no and very weak (1 × 2) superlattice reconstructions, respectively. This indicates that these GaAs(001) templates have a square-like symmetry. Magnetic anisotropies were investigated using the in-plane angular dependence of ferromagnetic resonance at 36 GHz. The in-plane cubic and uniaxial anisotropies and perpendicular uniaxial field were described by bulk and interface contributions, indicating that the Fe films have a high lattice coherence. The magnetic properties of the Fe films were compared to those grown on more commonly used GaAs(001) templates having a (4 × 6) reconstruction with an As-rich in-plane uniaxial symmetry. The Fe films grown on S-passivated templates exhibited unique magneti...

Tunable Magnetization and Damping of Sputter-Deposited, Exchange Coupled Py|Fe Bilayers

We report on magnetic damping of exchange coupled, polycrystalline Py(Ni80Fe20)|Fe and Fe|Py bilayers, prepared by sputter-deposition on an amorphous 3 nm Ta seed layer. FMR measurements are performed on varying thicknesses of the individual Py and Fe layers while keeping the total bilayer structure thickness fixed. When Fe is grown directly on Ta, there is large magnetic inhomogeneity and damping. However, when a Py layer is deposited between Fe and Ta, both the magnetic inhomogeneity and damping significantly decrease even if Fe is covered by Ta. The intrinsic damping of the Ta|Py|Fe film can be further lowered by increasing the Fe to Py ratio. SQUID measurements show a linear increase in saturation magnetization with increasing ratio of Fe to Py. A combination of in-plane and out-of-plane X-ray diffraction measurements show that Py is textured along the 〈111〉 directions and Fe is textured along the 〈110〉, with Fe texture significantly improving if it is deposited on Ta|Py instead of Ta. By improving the texture of Fe by introducing a thin Py layer between Fe and Ta, one can grow Fe thin films with zero in-plane anisotropy, tunable magnetic moment, and low magnetic damping, approaching that of the best single crystal Fe.

Injection locking of multiple auto-oscillation modes in a tapered nanowire spin Hall oscillator

Spin Hall oscillators (SHO) are promising candidates for the generation, detection and amplification of high frequency signals, that are tunable through a wide range of operating frequencies. They offer to be read out electrically, magnetically and optically in combination with a simple bilayer design. Here, we experimentally study the spatial dependence and spectral properties of auto-oscillations in SHO devices based on Pt(7 nm)/Ni80Fe20(5 nm) tapered nanowires. Using Brillouin light scattering microscopy, we observe two individual self-localized spin-wave bullets that oscillate at two distinct frequencies (5.2 GHz and 5.45 GHz) and are localized at different positions separated by about 750 nm within the SHO. This state of a tapered SHO has been predicted by a Ginzburg-Landau auto-oscillator model, but not yet been directly confirmed experimentally. We demonstrate that the observed bullets can be individually synchronized to external microwave signals, leading to a frequency entrainment, linewidth reduction and increase in oscillation amplitude for the bullet that is selected by the microwave frequency. At the same time, the amplitude of other parasitic modes decreases, which promotes the single-mode operation of the SHO. Finally, the synchronization of the spin-wave bullets is studied as a function of the microwave power. We believe that our findings promote the realization of extended spin Hall oscillators accomodating several distinct spin-wave bullets, that jointly cover an extended range of tunability.

Spin–orbit torque driven by a planar Hall current

Spin-orbit torques in bilayers of ferromagnetic and nonmagnetic materials hold promise for energy efficient switching of magnetization in nonvolatile magnetic memories. Previously studied spin Hall and Rashba torques originate from spin-orbit interactions within the nonmagnetic material and at the bilayer interface, respectively. Here we report a spin-orbit torque that arises from planar Hall current in the ferromagnetic material of the bilayer and acts as either positive or negative magnetic damping. This planar Hall torque exhibits unusual biaxial symmetry in the plane defined by the applied electric field and the bilayer normal. The magnitude of the planar Hall torque is similar to that of the giant spin Hall torque and is large enough to excite auto-oscillations of the ferromagnetic layer magnetization.Spin–orbit torques (SOTs) in multilayers of ferromagnetic (FM) and non-magnetic (NM) metals can manipulate the magnetization of the FM layer efficiently. This is employed, for example, in non-volatile magnetic memories for energy-efficient mobile electronics1,2 and spin torque nano-oscillators3–7 for neuromorphic computing8. Recently, spin torque nano-oscillators also found use in microwave-assisted magnetic recording, which enables ultrahigh-capacity hard disk drives9. Most SOT devices employ spin Hall10,11 and Rashba12 effects, which originate from spin–orbit coupling within the NM layer and at the FM/NM interfaces, respectively. Recently, SOTs generated by the anomalous Hall effect in FM/NM/FM multilayers were predicted13 and experimentally realized14. The control of SOTs through crystal symmetry was demonstrated as well15. Understanding all the types of SOTs that can arise in magnetic multilayers is needed for a formulation of a comprehensive SOT theory and for engineering practical SOT devices. Here we show that a spin-polarized electric current known to give rise to anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) and the planar Hall effect (PHE) in a FM16 can additionally generate large antidamping SOTs with an unusual angular symmetry in NM1/FM/NM2 multilayers. This effect can be described by a recently proposed magnonic mechanism17. Our measurements reveal that this torque can be large in multilayers in which both spin Hall and Rashba torques are negligible. Furthermore, we demonstrate the operation of a spin torque nano-oscillator driven by this SOT. These findings significantly expand the class of materials that exhibit giant SOTs.A spin-polarized current responsible for the planar Hall effect and anisotropic magnetoresistance is found to generate large antidamping spin–orbit torque in normal metal/ferromagnet/normal metal trilayers.

Chapter 3 – Magnetization Dynamics

This chapter initially reviews key formulas and concepts in magnetization dynamics, primarily in ferromagnets. This is followed by a discussion of the kinds of initial measurements that one might use to characterize an unknown magnetic sample. Then, ferromagnetic resonance is developed in more detail, introducing magnetic damping and discussing both field-swept and frequency-swept measurements. A second common technique for measuring magnetization dynamics, Brillouin light scattering, is then presented along with recent examples. The emphasis throughout the chapter is on thin films and nanostructures.