Hysteretic spin-wave excitation in spin-torque oscillators as a function of the in-plane field angle: A micromagnetic description

Abstract

This paper describes a full micromagnetic characterization of the magnetization dynamics driven by spin-polarized current in anisotropic spin-torque oscillators (STOs). For field angles approaching the hard in-plane axis, the excited mode is uniform and a super-critical Hopf-bifurcation takes place at the critical current density JC. For field angles close to the easy axis of the free layer, the excited mode is localized (non-uniform) and a sub-critical Hopf-bifurcation occurs at JC. In this latter region, a hysteretic behaviour is, therefore, found. We demonstrate numerically that the non-linearities of the STO are strongly reduced when the oscillation frequency at the critical current is near the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) frequency computed at zero bias current, and in particular, this condition corresponds to the field orientation at which a minimum in the FMR-frequency is achieved.