G. B. G. Stenning

Magnetic control of a meta-molecule

Metamaterials offer the prospect of new science and applications. They have been designed by shaping or changing the material of the individual meta-molecules to achieve properties not naturally attainable. Composite meta-molecules incorporating a magnetic component offer new opportunities. In this work we report on the interaction between a non-magnetic split ring resonator (SRR) and a thin film of yttrium iron garnet (YIG). Strong hybridized resonances are observed. While the SRR is characterized by a magnetic and electric resonance, in practice, it is found that the YIG couples strongly to this symmetric (electric) mode of the SRR. It is also demonstrated that the anti-crossing region provides fertile ground for the creation of elementary excitations such as backward volume magnetostatic waves.

Magnetization dynamics in an exchange-coupled NiFe/CoFe bilayer studied by x-ray detected ferromagnetic resonance

Exchange-coupled hard and soft magnetic layers find extensive use in data storage applications, for which their dynamical response has great importance. With bulk techniques, such as ferromagnetic resonance (FMR), it is difficult to access the behaviour and precise influence of each individual layer. By contrast, the synchrotron radiation-based technique of x-ray detected ferromagnetic resonance (XFMR) allows element-specific and phase-resolved FMR measurements in the frequency range 0.5–11 GHz. Here, we report the study of the magnetization dynamics of an exchange-coupled Ni0.81Fe0.19 (43.5 nm)/Co0.5Fe0.5 (30 nm) bilayer system using magnetometry and vector network analyser FMR, combined with XFMR at the Ni and Co L2 x-ray absorption edges. The epitaxially grown bilayer exhibits two principal resonances denoted as the acoustic and optical modes. FMR experiments show that the Kittel curves of the two layers cannot be taken in isolation, but that their modelling needs to account for an interlayer exchange coupling. The angular dependence of FMR indicates a collective effect for the modes of the magnetically hard CoFe and soft NiFe layer. The XFMR precessional scans show that the acoustic mode is dominated by the Ni signal with the Co and Ni magnetization precessing in phase, whereas the optical mode is dominated by the Co signal with the Co and Ni magnetization precessing in anti-phase. The response of the Co signal at the Ni resonance, and vice versa, show induced changes in both amplitude and phase, which can be ascribed to the interface exchange coupling. An interesting aspect of phase-resolved XFMR is the ability to distinguish between static and dynamic exchange coupling. The element-specific precessional scans of the NiFe/CoFe bilayer clearly have the signature of static exchange coupling, in which the effective field in one layer is aligned along the magnetization direction of the other layer.

Giant magnetic modulation of a planar, hybrid metamolecule resonance

Coupling magnetic elements to metamaterial structures creates hybrid metamolecules with new opportunities. Here we report on the magnetic control of a metamolecule resonance, by utilizing the interaction between a single split ring resonator (SRR) and a magnetic thin film of permalloy. To suppress eddy current shielding, the permalloy films are patterned into arrays of 30–500 μm diameter discs. Strong hybridized resonances were observed at the anticrossing between the split ring resonance and the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) of the permalloy. In particular, it is possible to achieve 40 dB modulation of the electric (symmetric) mode of the SRR on sweeping the applied magnetic field through the SRR/FMR anticrossing. The results open the way to the design of planar metamaterials, with potential applications in nonlinear metamaterials, tunable metamaterials and spintronics. S Online supplementary data available from stacks.iop.org/NJP/16/063002/ mmedia

Pulsed laser deposition of high-quality µm-thick YIG films on YAG

We report the epitaxial growth of high-quality µm-thick yttrium iron garnet (YIG) films on yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG) substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The effects of substrate temperature and oxygen pressure on composition, crystallinity, optical transmission and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) linewidth have been investigated. An FMR linewidth as low as 1.75 mT at 6 GHz was achieved by depositing YIG on YAG substrates with (100) orientation at a substrate temperature of ~1600 K and with oxygen pressure of ~1 Pa.

Magnetic reversal in a YFe2 dominated DyFe2/YFe2 multilayer film

Magnetic reversal in a (110)-oriented [DyFe2(60 A)/YFe2(240 A)]×15 multilayer film is investigated using magnetometry, micro-magnetic modeling, and element-specific soft x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. At temperatures between ∼60 and 120 K, the magnetic reversal involves a two-step process. It is shown that the reversal mechanism can be described as switching from an in-plane [001] reversed anti-ferromagnetic state, to an out-of-plane [100] transverse spring exchange state, and finally to an in-plane [001¯] magnetic exchange spring state.

A metamolecule antenna for coplanar waveguides.

We report on a metamolecule antenna, based on a fish-scale design but augmented with two split-ring resonators (SRRs) placed within the fish-scale loops. The properties of the antenna resonator, with and without additional SRRs, were examined using finite element method simulations (COMSOL Multiphysics). The simulation findings were subsequently confirmed experimentally, using a vector network analyser coupled to an antenna-loaded coplanar waveguide (CPW). The addition of SRRs to the fish-scale meta-molecule leads to a demonstrably large increase in microwave-absorption. It is shown that the fish-scale/SRR/CPW combination performs as a microwave antenna. Simulations of the antenna gain and far-field emission are presented and discussed.

Inter and intra macro-cell model for point dipole–dipole energy calculations

In the field of micromagnetics, the calculation of long-range dipole-dipole interactions in non-uniformly magnetized bodies has long posed computational problems. In this paper, we present an inter and intra macro-cell point-dipole model, which can be used to speed-up the determination of dipole-dipole energies at the atomistic level. The model can be used to accurately compute the dipole-dipole energy, using macro-cells of any shape or size.