Broadband Ferromagnetic Resonance Research Articles

Light and microwave driven spin pumping across FeGaB–BiSb interface

3-D topological insulators (TI) with large spin Hall conductivity have emerged as potential candidates for spintronic applications. Here, we report spin to charge conversion in bilayers of amorphous ferromagnet (FM) Fe_{78}Ga_{13}B_{9} (FeGaB) and 3-D TI Bi_{85}Sb_{15} (BiSb) activated by two complementary techniques: spin pumping and ultrafast spin-current injection. DC magnetization measurements establish the soft magnetic character of FeGaB films, which remains unaltered in the heterostructures of FeGaB-BiSb. Broadband ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) studies reveal enhanced damping of precessing magnetization and large value of spin mixing conductance (5.03 x 10^{19} m^{-2}) as the spin angular momentum leaks into the TI layer. Magnetic field controlled bipolar dc voltage generated across the TI layer by inverse spin Hall effect is analyzed to extract the values of spin Hall angle and spin diffusion length of BiSb. The spin pumping parameters derived from the measurements of the femtosecond light-pulse-induced terahertz emission are consistent with the result of FMR. Kubo-Bastin formula and tight-binding model calculations shed light on the thickness-dependent spin-Hall conductivity of the TI films, with predictions that are in remarkable agreement with the experimental data. Our results suggest that room temperature deposited amorphous and polycrystalline heterostructures provide a promising platform for creating novel spin orbit torque devices.

Probing anisotropy in epitaxial Fe/Pt bilayers by spin–orbit torque ferromagnetic resonance

We report the generation and detection of spin–orbit torque ferromagnetic resonance (STFMR) in micropatterned epitaxial Fe/Pt bilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The magnetic field dependent measurements at an in-plane magnetic field angle of 45° with respect to the microwave-current direction reveal the presence of two distinct voltage peaks indicative of a strong magnetic anisotropy. We show that STFMR can be employed to probe the underlying magnetic properties, including the anisotropies in the Fe layer. We compare our STFMR results with broadband ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy and magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements of the unpatterned bilayer thin films. The experimental STFMR measurements are interpreted using an analytical formalism and further confirmed using micromagnetic modeling which sheds light on the field-dependent magnetization alignment in the microstructures responsible for the STFMR rectification. Our results demonstrate a simple and efficient method for determining magnetic anisotropies in microstructures by means of rf spectroscopy.

Spin‐Charge Conversion in Fe/Au/Sb2Te3 Heterostructures as Probed By Spin Pumping Ferromagnetic Resonance

AbstractLarge‐area antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) thin films are grown by a metal organic chemical vapor deposition technique on 4” Si(111) substrates, and their topological character probed by magnetoconductance measurements. When interfaced with Fe thin films, broadband ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy (BFMR) shows a clear increase of the damping parameter in Fe/Sb2Te3 when compared to a reference Fe layer, which may suggest the occurrence of spin pumping (SP) into Sb2Te3. Simultaneously, X‐ray reflectivity and conversion electron Mossbauer spectroscopy evidence the development of a chemically and magnetically pure Fe/Sb2Te3 interface. However, by conducting SP‐FMR, it is shown that no spin‐to‐charge conversion (S2C) occurs in Fe/Sb2Te3, while a clear SP signal develops by introducing a 5 nm Au interlayer between Fe and Sb2Te3, with a measured inverse Edelstein effect conversion efficiency of λIEE = 0.27 nm. The results shed some light on the correlation among the chemical‐structural‐magnetic properties of the Fe/Sb2Te3 interface, the broadening of the magnetic damping parameter as detected by BFMR, and the occurrence of S2C, as probed by SP‐FMR.

Reconfigurable 3D magnonic crystal: Tunable and localized spin-wave excitations in CoFeB meander-shaped film

In this work, we study experimentally by broadband ferromagnetic resonance measurements, the dependence of the spin-wave excitation spectra on the magnetic applied field in CoFeB meander-shaped films. Two different orientations of the external magnetic field were explored, namely parallel or perpendicular to the lattice cores. The interpretation of the field dependence of the frequency and spatial profiles of major spin-wave modes were obtained by micromagnetic simulations. We show that the vertical segments couple the horizontal sections of the structure and support the in-phase and out-of-phase spin-wave precession amplitude for several magnetic modes. The investigated structures could potentially be used for the design of tunable metasurfaces or in magnetic memories based on meandering 3D magnetic films.

Growth optimization of TaN for superconducting spintronics

We have optimized the growth of superconducting TaN thin films on SiO2 substrates via dc magnetron sputtering and extract a maximum superconducting transition temperature of T c = 5 K as well as a maximum critical field μ 0 H c2 = (13.8 ± 0.1) T. This material is of interest for both different fields of quantum technology and superconducting spintronics as it represents a magnetic field-robust superconductor with strong spin–orbit interaction (SOI). After presenting the results of the growth optimization, we investigate in the second part the impact of the strong SOI in TaN on superconductor/ferromagnet heterostructures. To this end, we analyze the magnetization dynamics of both normal state and superconducting TaN/Ni80Fe20 (permalloy, Py)-bilayers as a function of temperature using broadband ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy. In particular, we quantify the inverse current-induced torques of the bilayers and compare these results to NbN/Py-bilayers. In the normal state of TaN, we detect a positive damping-like current-induced torque σ d from the inverse spin Hall effect and a small field-like torque σ f attributed to the inverse Rashba–Edelstein effect at the TaN/Py-interface. In the superconducting state of TaN, we detect a negative σ d attributed to the quasiparticle mediated inverse spin Hall effect (QMiSHE) and the unexpected manifestation of a large positive field-like σ f of unknown origin matching our previous results for NbN/Py-bilayers. The QMiSHE can be used to probe spin currents in emergent quantum materials.

Reconfigurable spin-wave dynamics in two-dimensional quasiperiodic magnonic crystals

Active control of spin-wave properties is at the heart of on-chip reconfigurable magnonics, which promise development of energy efficient and miniaturized on-chip processing and communication devices in the GHz and sub-THz frequency range. Here, we demonstrated active control of spin-wave spectra in two-dimensional nanoscale antidot lattices arranged in shifted honeycomb and octagonal symmetries by varying the antidot diameter using broadband ferromagnetic resonance. Both these lattices exhibited stark variation in the spin-wave spectra with antidot diameter, besides the variation of the strength and orientation of bias magnetic field. With increasing diameter number of spin-wave modes gradually increased, and the position of mode splitting shifted to higher magnetic field due to ensuing increase in the demagnetizing field governing the spin-wave extension or localization in the lattices. The bias-field angle variation revealed higher-order rotational symmetry characteristic of quasi-periodic structure. Micromagnetic simulations qualitatively reproduced the experimental observations, and simulated spin-wave mode profiles revealed extended and standing spin-wave modes and their mutual conversion with bias-field angle in both lattices. The contrasting variation in the amplitude of rotational symmetry of spin-wave frequency with antidot diameter was interpreted by the variation of spin-wave mode profiles as well as the simulated internal magnetic field variation. Such efficient tunability of spin-wave properties with internal structure and external control parameters and higher-order rotational anisotropy in these atypical magnonic crystals will promote them for applications in on-chip reconfigurable magnonic devices.

Magnetism and spin dynamics in room-temperature van der Waals magnet Fe5GeTe2

Two-dimensional van der Waals (vdWs) materials have gathered a lot of attention recently. However, the majority of these materials have Curie temperatures that are well below room temperature, making it challenging to incorporate them into device applications. In this work, we synthesized a room-temperature vdW magnetic crystal Fe5GeTe2 with a Curie temperature T K, and studied its magnetic properties by vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and broadband ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectroscopy. The experiments were performed with external magnetic fields applied along the c-axis (H c) and the ab-plane (H ab), with temperatures ranging from 300 to 10 K. We have found a sizable Landé g-factor difference between the H c and H ab cases. In both cases, the Landé g-factor values deviated from g = 2. This indicates contribution of orbital angular momentum to the magnetic moment. The FMR measurements reveal that Fe5GeTe2 has a damping constant comparable to Permalloy. With reducing temperature, the linewidth was broadened. Together with the VSM data, our measurements indicate that Fe5GeTe2 transitions from ferromagnetic to ferrimagnetic at lower temperatures. Our experiments highlight key information regarding the magnetic state and spin scattering processes in Fe5GeTe2, which promote the understanding of magnetism in Fe5GeTe2, leading to implementations of Fe5GeTe2 based room-temperature spintronic devices.

Magnetization dynamics of single and trilayer permalloy nanodots

We have investigated the magnetization dynamics in single and trilayer circular permalloy nanodots with a diameter of 120 nm using broadband ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy. For single-layer nanodots, two well-separated modes near the saturation field, a high-frequency center mode due to excitations at the center of the nanodots and a low-frequency edge mode due to the inhomogeneous effective field near the edges, were observed. Both the center mode and the edge mode are found to be sensitive to the thickness of the nanodots. However, for trilayer nanodots, two center modes arise due to the in-phase and out-of-phase precession of spins in magneto-dynamically coupled layers. Our experimental results are substantiated by micromagnetic simulations, which are in good agreement.

Measuring spin wave resonance in Ni100 x Fe x films: compositional and temperature dependence

We study the composition and temperature dependence of the spin wave resonance in NiFe films, where, x is 40% or below, with a thickness of 100 nm using a temperature variable broadband ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectroscopy. From the uniform FMR mode, the saturation magnetization and the Gilbert damping are measured, and using the first perpendicular standing spin wave mode, the exchange stiffness constant is determined. At lower temperatures, we measure an increase of both and A, while α shows a very weak temperature dependence. We find that follows perfectly Bloch’s law, while A is best described by a T 2 law. Additionally, we measure a linear increase in and A with the increase of Fe content in films, while α strongly decreases. The compositional variation of α and A can be ascribed to the increase of in Fe-rich films. Furthermore, we estimate the exchange length () in NiFe films. We find that is temperature independent, however, a strong decrease of is measured in Fe-rich films. This reduction is inversely proportional to .

The Gilbert damping of thickness-dependent epitaxial single-crystal Heusler Co2FeAl films at various temperatures

Gilbert damping in epitaxial Heusler Co2FeAl films with thickness varying from 3 nm to 9 nm are investigated by broadband ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) with a temperature range of 5 K–300 K. Gilbert damping shows a continuous decrease with the increasing thickness of Co2FeAl films. Moreover, an enhanced peak of the Gilbert damping is observed with increasing temperature up to approximately 50 K for 3 nm, 6 nm and 9 nm thick Co2FeAl films, which may be attributed to the spin reorientation transition at Co2FeAl/MgO interface. Further, we analyzed the linewidth with a superposition of a uniaxial and a fourfold anisotropy for all samples, which suggests that FMR linewidth in epitaxial Co2FeAl films stems from two-magnon scattering. The change of Gilbert damping is confirmed to originate from various order degrees of the B2 phase with the growth of CFA film, impacting the control of magnetic damping in spin-based nanodevices.

Fabrication and broadband ferromagnetic resonance studies of freestanding polycrystalline yttrium iron garnet thin films

Flexible magnetic materials and devices with basic functional properties are highly desirable for flexible electronic applications in wearable products and implantable systems. In this work, a freestanding polycrystalline yttrium iron garnet (YIG) thin film with strong magnetism has been synthesized by pulsed laser deposition using a water-dissolvable Sr3Al2O6 sacrificial layer, and the magnetism of the resulting freestanding film was confirmed by a vibrating sample magnetometer and broadband ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy. When transferred to a support layer using a thermal release tape, the flexible polycrystalline YIG thin film exhibits a lower damping constant α and larger magnetocrystalline anisotropy, in contrast to the polycrystalline heterostructure of YIG, which arises due to stress release. Thus, this work offers a viable solution for flexible YIG thin films that can be used in a number of applications.

Spin diffusion length associated with out-of-plane conductivity of Pt in spin pumping experiments

We present a broadband ferromagnetic resonance study of the Gilbert damping enhancement ($\Delta \alpha$) due to spin pumping in NiFe/Pt bilayers. The bilayers, which have negligible interfacial spin memory loss, are studied as a function of the Pt layer thickness ($t_{\text{Pt}}$) and temperature (100-293 K). Within the framework of diffusive spin pumping theory, we demonstrate that Dyakonov-Perel (DP) or Elliot-Yaffet (EY) spin relaxation mechanisms acting alone are incompatible with our observations. In contrast, if we consider that the relation between spin relaxation characteristic time ($\tau_{\text{s}}$) and momentum relaxation characteristic time ($\tau_{\text{p}}$) is determined by a superposition of DP and EY mechanisms, the qualitative and quantitative agreement with experimental results is excellent. Remarkably, we found that $\tau_{\text{p}}$ must be determined by the out-of-plane electrical resistivity ($\rho$) of the Pt film and hence its spin diffusion length ($\lambda_{\text{Pt}}$) is independent of $t_{\text{Pt}}$. Our work settles the controversy regarding the $t_{\text{Pt}}$ dependence of $\lambda_{\text{Pt}}$ by demonstrating its fundamental connection with $\rho$ considered along the same direction of spin current flow. \end{abstract}

Fabrication Method, Ferromagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Spintronics Devices Based on the Organic‐Based Ferrimagnet Vanadium Tetracyanoethylene

AbstractOrganic‐based magnetic materials have been used for spintronic device applications as electrodes of spin aligned carriers and spin‐pumping substrates. Their advantages over more traditional inorganic magnets include reduced magnetic damping and lower fabrication costs. Vanadium tetracyanoethylene, V[TCNE]x (x ≈ 2), is an organic‐based ferrimagnet with an above room‐temperature magnetic order temperature (Tc ≈ 400 K). V[TCNE]x has deposition flexibility and can be grown on a variety of substrates via low‐temperature chemical vapor deposition (CVD). A systematic study of V[TCNE]x thin‐film CVD parameters to achieve optimal film quality, reproducibility, and excellent magnetic properties is reported. This is assessed by broadband ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) that shows most narrow linewidth of ≈1.5 Gauss and an extremely low Gilbert damping coefficient. The neat V[TCNE]x films are shown to be efficient spin injectors via spin pumping into an adjacent platinum layer. Also, under an optimized FMR linewidth, the V[TCNE]x films exhibit Fano‐type resonance with a continuum broadband absorption in the microwave range, which can be readily tuned by the microwave frequency.

Observation of mode splitting in artificial spin ice: A comparative ferromagnetic resonance and Brillouin light scattering study

We report the dependence of the magnetization dynamics in a square artificial spin-ice lattice on the in-plane magnetic field angle. Using two complementary measurement techniques—broadband ferromagnetic resonance and micro-focused Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy—we systematically study the evolution of the lattice dynamics, for both a coherent radio frequency excitation and an incoherent thermal excitation of spin dynamics. We observe a splitting of modes facilitated by inter-element interactions that can be controlled by the external field angle and magnitude. Detailed time-dependent micromagnetic simulations reveal that the split modes are localized in different regions of the square network. This observation suggests that it is possible to disentangle modes with different spatial profiles by tuning the external field configuration.

Microresonators and Microantennas—Tools to Explore Magnetization Dynamics in Single Nanostructures

The phenomenon of magnetic resonance and its detection via microwave spectroscopy provide insight into the magnetization dynamics of bulk or thin film materials. This allows for direct access to fundamental properties, such as the effective magnetization, g-factor, magnetic anisotropy, and the various damping (relaxation) channels that govern the decay of magnetic excitations. Cavity-based and broadband ferromagnetic resonance techniques that detect the microwave absorption of spin systems require a minimum magnetic volume to obtain a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). Therefore, conventional techniques typically do not offer the sensitivity to detect individual micro- or nanostructures. A solution to this sensitivity problem is the so-called planar microresonator, which is able to detect even the small absorption signals of magnetic nanostructures, including spin-wave or edge resonance modes. As an example, we describe the microresonator-based detection of spin-wave modes within microscopic strips of ferromagnetic A2 Fe60Al40 that are imprinted into a paramagnetic B2 Fe60Al40-matrix via focused ion-beam irradiation. While microresonators operate at a fixed microwave frequency, a reliable quantification of the key magnetic parameters like the g-factor or spin relaxation times requires investigations within a broad range of frequencies. Furthermore, we introduce and describe the step from microresonators towards a broadband microantenna approach. Broadband magnetic resonance experiments on single nanostructured magnetic objects in a frequency range of 2–18 GHz are demonstrated. The broadband approach has been employed to explore the influence of lateral structuring on the magnetization dynamics of a Permalloy (Ni80Fe20) microstrip.

Dynamic magnetic response of exchange-biased [formula omitted]FeAl/IrMn nanostructures

We report an experimental investigation of the quasi-static and dynamic magnetic properties of exchange-biased Co2FeAl/IrMn nanostructures. Specifically, we explore the exchange bias effect and the broadband ferromagnetic resonance spectrum of Co2FeAl/IrMn multilayers and verify their dependency with the thickness of the antiferromagnet. We observe an evolution of the dynamic magnetic response when samples are compared, and show it is experimentally tunable by varying the IrMn thickness and the angle between the external and bias fields. Our results thus provide further insights on the effect of antiferromagnetic thickness on the dynamical properties of Co2FeAl films. Additionally, they place exchange-biased Co2FeAl/IrMn nanostructures as interesting systems for applications based on the magnetization dynamics at high frequencies.

Emergent Spin Dynamics Enabled by Lattice Interactions in a Bicomponent Artificial Spin Ice.

Artificial spin ice (ASI) networks are arrays of nanoscaled magnets that can serve both as models for frustration in atomic spin ice as well as for exploring new spin-wave-based strategies to transmit, process, and store information. Here, we exploit the intricate interplay of the magnetization dynamics of two dissimilar ferromagnetic metals arranged on complementary lattice sites in a square ASI to modulate the spin-wave properties effectively. We show that the interaction between the two sublattices results in unique spectra attributed to each sublattice, and we observe inter- and intralattice dynamics facilitated by the distinct magnetization properties of the two materials. The dynamic properties are systematically studied by angular-dependent broadband ferromagnetic resonance and confirmed by micromagnetic simulations. We show that combining materials with dissimilar magnetic properties enables the realization of a wide range of two-dimensional structures, potentially opening the door to new concepts in nanomagnonics.

Multi-domain ferromagnetic resonance in magnetic van der Waals crystals CrI3 and CrBr3

Two-dimensional (2D) magnetic van der Waals crystals have received great attentions recently owing to their novel electronic and magnetic properties and rich potentials for low-dimensional and high-density spintronic devices. We investigated the magnetization dynamics of CrI3 and CrBr3 bulk single crystals by utilizing broadband ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) in a frequency range of 1 – 40 GHz and over a wide temperature range of 10 – 300 K. Complex features observed in the FMR spectra are quantitatively described by the multi-domain FMR theory. The minimum resonance frequency fmin in FMR spectra was recognized and analyzed as characteristics of the transition of the domain structure. Micromagnetic simulation on the domain structure and spin dynamics explains that the multi-domain structure exists under strong in-plane magnetic field for CrI3 and CrBr3 and significantly influences the magnetic dynamics properties. Our results also suggest that the linewidths of FMR spectra in CrI3 and CrBr3 are dominated by the magnetic inhomogeneous broadening.

Dynamical behaviour of ultrathin [CoFeB (tCoFeB)/Pd] films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

CoFeB-based ultrathin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy are promising for different emerging technological applications such as nonvolatile memories with low power consumption and high-speed performance. In this work, the dynamical properties of [CoFeB (tCoFeB)/Pd (10 Å)]5 multilayered ultrathin films (1 Å ≤ tCoFeB ≤ 5 Å) are studied by using two complementary methods: time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect and broadband ferromagnetic resonance. The perpendicular magnetization is confirmed for multilayers with tCoFeB ≤ 4 Å. The effective perpendicular magnetic anisotropy reaches a clear maximum at tCoFeB = 3 Å. Further increase of CoFeB layer thickness reduces the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and the magnetization became in-plane oriented for tCoFeB ≥ 5 Å. This behaviour is explained by considering competing contributions from surface and magnetoelastic anisotropies. It was also found that the effective damping parameter αeff decreases with CoFeB layer thickness and for tCoFeB = 4 Å reaches a value of ~ 0.019 that is suitable for microwave applications.

Inverse Spin Hall Effect enhancement in Pt layer doped by Ge

We systematic studied the spin pumping (SP) and inverse spin Hall effects (ISHE) in yttrium iron garnet Y3Fe5O12 (YIG)/PtGe bilayer using a coplanar waveguide based broadband ferromagnetic resonance setup. More efficient spin injection occurs at the YIG/PtGe interface. The spin Hall angle of Pt (4.4%) and PtGe (9%) are obtained from the metal layer thickness dependent inverse spin Hall voltage measurement. PtGe films are promising materials with large spin Hall angles for future spintronics applications.