T. Brächer

Design of a spin-wave majority gate employing mode selection

The design of a microstructured, fully functional spin-wave majority gate is presented and studied using micromagnetic simulations. This all-magnon logic gate consists of three-input waveguides, a spin-wave combiner and an output waveguide. In order to ensure the functionality of the device, the output waveguide is designed to perform spin-wave mode selection. We demonstrate that the gate evaluates the majority of the input signals coded into the spin-wave phase. Moreover, the all-magnon data processing device is used to perform logic AND-, OR-, NAND- and NOR- operations.

Spin-wave excitation and propagation in microstructured waveguides of yttrium iron garnet/Pt bilayers

We present an experimental study of spin-wave excitation and propagation in microstructured waveguides consisting of a 100 nm thick yttrium iron garnet/platinum (Pt) bilayer. The life time of the spin waves is found to be more than an order of magnitude higher than in comparably sized metallic structures, despite the fact that the Pt capping enhances the Gilbert damping. Utilizing microfocus Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy, we reveal the spin-wave mode structure for different excitation frequencies. An exponential spin-wave amplitude decay length of 31 μm is observed which is a significant step towards low damping, insulator based micro-magnonics.

Low-damping spin-wave propagation in a micro-structured Co2Mn0.6Fe0.4Si Heusler waveguide

We report on the investigation of spin-wave propagation in a micro-structured Co2Mn0.6Fe0.4Si (CMFS) Heusler waveguide. The reduced magnetic losses of this compound compared to the commonly used Ni81Fe19 allow for the observation of spin-wave propagation over distances as high as 75 μm via Brillouin light scattering (BLS) microscopy. In the linear regime, a maximum decay length of 16.7 μm of the spin-wave amplitude was found. The coherence length of the observed spin-wave modes was estimated to be at least 16 μm via phase-resolved BLS techniques.

Spin-wave logic devices based on isotropic forward volume magnetostatic waves

We propose the utilization of isotropic forward volume magnetostatic spin waves in modern wave-based logic devices and suggest a concrete design for a spin-wave majority gate operating with these waves. We demonstrate by numerical simulations that the proposed out-of-plane magnetized majority gate overcomes the limitations of anisotropic in-plane magnetized majority gates due to the high spin-wave transmission through the gate, which enables a reduced energy consumption of these devices. Moreover, the functionality of the out-of-plane majority gate is increased due to the lack of parasitic generation of short-wavelength exchange spin waves.

A micro-structured ion-implanted magnonic crystal

We investigate spin-wave propagation in a microstructured magnonic-crystal waveguide fabricated by localized ion implantation. The irradiation caused a periodic variation in the saturation magnetization along the waveguide. As a consequence, the spin-wave transmission spectrum exhibits a set of frequency bands, where spin-wave propagation is suppressed. A weak modification of the saturation magnetization by 7% is sufficient to decrease the spin-wave transmission in the band gaps by a factor of 10. These results evidence the applicability of localized ion implantation for the fabrication of efficient micron- and nano-sized magnonic crystals for magnon spintronic applications.

Interference of coherent spin waves in micron-sized ferromagnetic waveguides

We present experimental observations of the interference of spin-wave modes propagating in opposite directions in micron-sized Ni81Fe19-waveguides. To monitor the local spin-wave intensity distribution and phase of the formed interference pattern, we use Brillouin light scattering microscopy. The two-dimensional spin-wave intensity map can be understood by considering the interference of several waveguide eigenmodes with different wavevectors quantized across the width of the stripe. The phase shows a transition from linear dependence on the space coordinate near the antennas characteristic for propagating waves to discrete values in the center region characteristic for standing waves.

The role of the non-magnetic material in spin pumping and magnetization dynamics in NiFe and CoFeB multilayer systems

We present a study of the effective magnetization Meff and the effective damping parameter αeff by means of ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy on the ferromagnetic (FM) materials Ni81Fe19 (NiFe) and Co40Fe40B20 (CoFeB) in FM/Pt, FM/NM, and FM/NM/Pt systems with the non-magnetic (NM) materials Ru, Cr, Al, and MgO. Moreover, for NiFe layer systems, the influence of interface effects is studied by way of thickness dependent measurements of Meff and αeff. Additionally, spin pumping in NiFe/NM/Pt is investigated by means of inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE) measurements. We observe a large dependence of Meff and αeff of the NiFe films on the adjacent NM layer. While Cr and Al do not induce a large change in the magnetic properties, Ru, Pt, and MgO affect Meff and αeff in different degrees. In particular, NiFe/Ru and NiFe/Ru/Pt systems show a large perpendicular surface anisotropy and a significant enhancement of the damping. In contrast, the magnetic properties of CoFeB films do not have a large influence of t...

Generation of propagating backward volume spin waves by phase-sensitive mode conversion in two-dimensional microstructures

We present the generation of propagating backward volume (BV) spin waves in a T shaped Ni81Fe19 microstructure. These waves are created from counterpropagating Damon Eshbach spin waves, which are excited using microstrip antennas. By employing Brillouin light scattering microscopy, we show how the phase relation between the counterpropagating waves determines the mode generated in the center of the structure, and prove its propagation inside the longitudinally magnetized part of the T shaped microstructure. This gives access to the effective generation of backward volume spin waves with full control over the generated transverse mode.

Mode selective parametric excitation of spin waves in a Ni81Fe19 microstripe

We present the experimental observation of parallel parametric amplification of selected thermal spin-wave modes in a transversally magnetized Ni81Fe19 microstripe. By employing Brillouin light scattering microscopy, we identify the dominant group, i.e., the spin-wave mode that is preferentially amplified. Due to the existing spin-wave quantization in the system, it is possible to select one specific mode to be parametrically excited by changing the bias magnetic field. This gives access to transversal spin-wave eigenmodes of the stripe which are promising for spin-wave information processing and also to modes localized at the stripe edges.

Spin-transfer torque based damping control of parametrically excited spin waves in a magnetic insulator

The damping of spin waves parametrically excited in the magnetic insulator Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) is controlled by a dc current passed through an adjacent normal-metal film. The experiment is performed on a macroscopically sized YIG(100 nm)/Pt(10 nm) bilayer of 4 × 2 mm2 lateral dimensions. The spin-wave relaxation frequency is determined via the threshold of the parametric instability measured by Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy. The application of a dc current to the Pt film leads to the formation of a spin-polarized electron current normal to the film plane due to the spin Hall effect. This spin current exerts a spin transfer torque in the YIG film and, thus, changes the spin-wave damping. Depending on the polarity of the applied dc current with respect to the magnetization direction, the damping can be increased or decreased. The magnitude of its variation is proportional to the applied current. A variation in the relaxation frequency of ±7.5% is achieved for an applied dc current density of...