Houchen Chang

Growth and ferromagnetic resonance properties of nanometer-thick yttrium iron garnet films

Growth of nm-thick yttrium iron garnet films and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) linewidth properties in the films are reported. The films were grown on gadolinium gallium garnet substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Films in the 5–35 nm thickness range showed a (111) orientation and a surface roughness between 0.1 and 0.3 nm. The 10 nm films showed a 10 GHz FMR linewidth of about 6 Oe and a damping constant of 3.2 × 10−4. The FMR linewidth increases with both the surface roughness and the surface Fe deficiency. Thicker films exhibit a smaller FMR linewidth and a lower damping constant.

Nanometer-Thick Yttrium Iron Garnet Films With Extremely Low Damping

Yttrium iron garnet (YIG) films that are in the nanometer thickness range and show extremely low damping are reported. The films were deposited via sputtering at room temperature and were then annealed in O2 at high temperature. A 22-nm-thick YIG film showed a Gilbert damping constant α = (8.58 ± 0.21) × 10-5, which represents the lowest damping ever reported for nanometer-thick magnetic films. The film had a gyromagnetic ratio of |γ| = 2.83 MHz/Oe and a saturation induction of 4π Ms = 1766 G, which are both very close to those of single-crystal YIG bulk materials. The film had a very smooth surface, with an rms surface roughness of about 0.13 nm.

Ferromagnetic resonance of sputtered yttrium iron garnet nanometer films

Growth of nm-thick yttrium iron garnet (YIG) films by sputtering and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) properties in the films were studied. The FMR linewidth of the YIG film decreased as the film thickness was increased from several nanometers to about 100 nm. For films with very smooth surfaces, the linewidth increased linearly with frequency. In contrast, for films with big grains on the surface, the linewidth-frequency response was strongly nonlinear. Films in the 7–26 nm thickness range showed a surface roughness between 0.1 nm and 0.4 nm, a 9.48-GHz FMR linewidth in the 6–10 Oe range, and a damping constant of about 0.001.

Surface-State-Dominated Spin-Charge Current Conversion in Topological-Insulator-Ferromagnetic-Insulator Heterostructures.

We report the observation of ferromagnetic resonance-driven spin pumping signals at room temperature in three-dimensional topological insulator thin films-Bi_{2}Se_{3} and (Bi,Sb)_{2}Te_{3}-deposited by molecular beam epitaxy on Y_{3}Fe_{5}O_{12} thin films. By systematically varying the Bi_{2}Se_{3} film thickness, we show that the spin-charge conversion efficiency, characterized by the inverse Rashba-Edelstein effect length (λ_{IREE}), increases dramatically as the film thickness is increased from two quintuple layers, saturating above six quintuple layers. This suggests a dominant role of surface states in spin and charge interconversion in topological-insulator-ferromagnet heterostructures. Our conclusion is further corroborated by studying a series of Y_{3}Fe_{5}O_{12}/(Bi,Sb)_{2}Te_{3} heterostructures. Finally, we use the ferromagnetic resonance linewidth broadening and the inverse Rashba-Edelstein signals to determine the effective interfacial spin mixing conductance and λ_{IREE}.

Spin–orbit torque-assisted switching in magnetic insulator thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

As an in-plane charge current flows in a heavy metal film with spin–orbit coupling, it produces a torque on and thereby switches the magnetization in a neighbouring ferromagnetic metal film. Such spin–orbit torque (SOT)-induced switching has been studied extensively in recent years and has shown higher efficiency than switching using conventional spin-transfer torque. Here we report the SOT-assisted switching in heavy metal/magnetic insulator systems. The experiments used a Pt/BaFe12O19 bilayer where the BaFe12O19 layer exhibits perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. As a charge current is passed through the Pt film, it produces a SOT that can control the up and down states of the remnant magnetization in the BaFe12O19 film when the film is magnetized by an in-plane magnetic field. It can reduce or increase the switching field of the BaFe12O19 film by as much as about 500 Oe when the film is switched with an out-of-plane field.

Spin waves in micro-structured yttrium iron garnet nanometer-thick films

We investigated the spin-wave propagation in a micro-structured yttrium iron garnet waveguide of 40 nm thickness. Utilizing spatially-resolved Brillouin light scattering microscopy, an exponential decay of the spin-wave amplitude of (10.06 ± 0.83) μm was observed. This leads to an estimated Gilbert damping constant of α=(8.79±0.73)×10−4, which is larger than damping values obtained through ferromagnetic resonance measurements in unstructured films. The theoretically calculated spatial interference of waveguide modes was compared to the spin-wave pattern observed experimentally by means of Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy.

Generation of pure spin currents via spin Seebeck effect in self-biased hexagonal ferrite thin films

Light-induced generation of pure spin currents in a Pt(2.5 nm)/BaFe12O19(1.2 μm)/sapphire(0.5 mm) structure is reported. The BaFe12O19 film had strong in-plane uniaxial anisotropy and was therefore self-biased. Upon exposure to light, a temperature difference (ΔT) was established across the BaFe12O19 thickness that gave rise to a pure spin current in the Pt via the spin Seebeck effect. Via the inverse spin Hall effect, the spin current produced an electric voltage across one of the Pt lateral dimensions. The voltage varied with time in the same manner as ΔT and flipped its sign when the magnetization in BaFe12O19 was reversed.

Driving and detecting ferromagnetic resonance in insulators with the spin Hall effect

We demonstrate the generation and detection of spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance in

Spin caloritronic nano-oscillator

\text{Pt/}{\mathrm{Y}}_{3}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}

Interface effects in nanometer-thick yttrium iron garnet films studied by magneto-optical spectroscopy

(YIG) bilayers. A unique attribute of this system is that the spin Hall effect lies at the heart of both the generation and detection processes and no charge current is passing through the insulating magnetic layer. When the YIG undergoes resonance, a dc voltage is detected longitudinally along the Pt that can be described by two components. One is the mixing of the spin Hall magnetoresistance with the microwave current. The other results from spin pumping into the Pt being converted to a dc current through the inverse spin Hall effect. The voltage is measured with applied magnetic field directions that range from in plane to nearly perpendicular. When compared with theory, we find that the real and imaginary parts of the spin mixing conductance have out-of-plane angular dependences.