Matthias B. Jungfleisch

Spin Pumping by Parametrically Excited Exchange Magnons

We experimentally show that exchange magnons can be detected by using a combination of spin pumping and the inverse spin-Hall effect proving its wavelength integrating capability down to the submicrometer scale. The magnons were injected in a ferrite yttrium iron garnet film by parametric pumping and the inverse spin-Hall effect voltage was detected in an attached Pt layer. The role of the density, wavelength, and spatial localization of the magnons for the spin pumping efficiency is revealed.

Length Scale of the Spin Seebeck Effect

The observation of the spin Seebeck effect in insulators has meant a breakthrough for spin caloritronics due to the unique ability to generate pure spin currents by thermal excitations in insulating systems without moving charge carriers. Since the recent first observation, the underlying mechanism and the origin of the observed signals have been discussed highly controversially. Here we present a characteristic dependence of the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect amplitude on the thickness of the insulating ferromagnet (YIG). Our measurements show that the observed behavior cannot be explained by any effects originating from the interface, such as magnetic proximity effects in the spin detector (Pt). Comparison to theoretical calculations of thermal magnonic spin currents yields qualitative agreement for the thickness dependence resulting from the finite effective magnon propagation length so that the origin of the effect can be traced to genuine bulk magnonic spin currents ruling out parasitic interface effects.

Direct detection of magnon spin transport by the inverse spin Hall effect

Conversion of traveling magnons into an electron carried spin current is demonstrated in a time resolved experiment using a spatially separated inductive spin-wave source and an inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE) detector. A spin-wave packet is excited in a yttrium-iron garnet waveguide by a microwave signal and is detected 3 mm apart by an attached platinum layer as a delayed ISHE voltage pulse. The delay appears due to the finite spin-wave group velocity and proves the magnon spin transport. The experiment suggests the utilization of spin waves for the information transfer over macroscopic distances in spintronic devices and circuits.

All-electrical manipulation of magnetization dynamics in a ferromagnet by antiferromagnets with anisotropic spin Hall effects

We investigate spin-orbit torques of metallic CuAu-I-type antiferromagnets using spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance tuned by a dc-bias current. The observed spin torques predominantly arise from diffusive transport of spin current generated by the spin Hall effect. We find a growth-orientation dependence of the spin torques by studying epitaxial samples, which may be correlated to the anisotropy of the spin Hall effect. The observed anisotropy is consistent with first-principles calculations on the intrinsic spin Hall effect. Our work suggests large tunable spin-orbit effects in magnetically-ordered materials.

Spin pumping and inverse Rashba-Edelstein effect in NiFe/Ag/Bi and NiFe/Ag/Sb

The Rashba effect is an interaction between the spin and the momentum of electrons induced by the spin-orbit coupling in surface or interface states. We measured the inverse Rashba-Edelstein effect via spin pumping in Ag/Bi and Ag/Sb interfaces. The spin current is injected from the ferromagnetic resonance of a NiFe layer towards the Rashba interfaces, where it is further converted into a charge current. Using spin pumping theory, we quantify the conversion parameter of spin to charge current to be 0.11 ± 0.02 nm for Ag/Bi and a factor of ten smaller for Ag/Sb. The relative strength of the effect is in agreement with spectroscopic measurements and first principles calculations. We also vary the interlayer materials to study the voltage output in relation to the change of the effective spin mixing conductance. The spin pumping experiment offers a straight-forward approach of using spin current as an efficient probe for detecting interface Rashba splitting.

Temporal evolution of inverse spin Hall effect voltage in a magnetic insulator-nonmagnetic metal structure

It is demonstrated that the temporal evolution of a spin-wave induced inverse spin Hall effect voltage in a magnetic insulator–nonmagnetic metal structure is distinctly different from that of the directly excited (microwave pulse driven) spin-wave mode from which it originates. The differences in temporal behavior provide compelling evidence that incoherent secondary spin-wave modes, having a range of different characteristic lifetimes, make an important contribution to spin pumping at the insulator-metal interface.

Role of bulk-magnon transport in the temporal evolution of the longitudinal spin-Seebeck effect

M. Agrawal, 2, ∗ V. I. Vasyuchka, A. A. Serga, A. Kirihara, 3 P. Pirro, T. Langner, M. B. Jungfleisch, A. V. Chumak, E. Th. Papaioannou, and B. Hillebrands Fachbereich Physik and Landesforschungszentrum OPTIMAS, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany Graduate School Materials Science in Mainz, Gottlieb-Daimer-Strasse 47, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany Smart Energy Research Laboratories, NEC Corporation, Tsukuba 305-8501, Japan (Dated: May 11, 2014)

Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy of parametrically excited dipole-exchange magnons

The spectral distribution of parametrically excited dipole-exchange magnons in an in-plane magnetized epitaxial film of yttrium-iron garnet was studied by means of frequency- and wavevector-resolved Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy. The experiment was performed in a parallel pumping geometry where an exciting microwave magnetic field was parallel to the magnetizing field. It was found that for both dipolar and exchange spectral areas parallel pumping excites the lowest volume magnon modes propagating in the film plane perpendicularly to the magnetization direction. In order to interpret the experimental observations, we used a microscopic Heisenberg model that includes exchange as well as dipole-dipole interactions to calculate the magnon spectrum and construct the eigenstates. As proven in our calculations, the observed magnons are characterized by having the highest possible ellipticity of precession which suggests the lowest threshold of parametric generation. Applying different pumping powers we observe modifications in the magnon spectrum that are described theoretically by a softening of the spin stiffness.

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.

Research Update: Spin transfer torques in permalloy on monolayer MoS2

We observe current induced spin transfer torque resonance in permalloy (Py) grown on monolayer MoS2. By passing rf current through the Py/MoS2 bilayer, field-like and damping-like torques are induced which excite the ferromagnetic resonance of Py. The signals are detected via a homodyne voltage from anisotropic magnetoresistance of Py. In comparison to other bilayer systems with strong spin-orbit torques, the monolayer MoS2 cannot provide bulk spin Hall effects and thus indicates the purely interfacial nature of the spin transfer torques. Therefore our results indicate the potential of two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenide for the use of interfacial spin-orbitronics applications.