arXiv subjects

Burkard Hillebrands

Publications and source records attributed to Burkard Hillebrands.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

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.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

Microwave-induced spin currents in ferromagnetic-insulator|normal-metal bilayer system

A microwave technique is employed to simultaneously examine the spin pumping and the spin Seebeck effect processes in a YIG|Pt bilayer system. The experimental results show that for these two processes, the spin current flows in opposite directions. The temporal dynamics of the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect exhibits that the effect depends on the diffusion of bulk thermal-magnons in the thermal gradient in the ferromagnetic-insulator|normal-metal system.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Magneto-elastic modes and lifetime of magnons in thin yttrium-iron garnet films

We calculate the effects of the spin-lattice coupling on the magnon spectrum of thin ferromagnetic films consisting of the magnetic insulator yttrium-iron garnet. The magnon-phonon hybridisation generates a characteristic minimum in the spin dynamic structure factor which quantitatively agrees with recent Brillouin light scattering experiments. We also show that at room temperature the phonon contribution to the magnon damping exhibits a rather complicated momentum dependence: In the exchange regime the magnon damping is dominated by Cherenkov type scattering processes, while in the long-wavelength dipolar regime these processes are subdominant and the magnon damping is two orders of magnitude smaller. We supplement our calculations by actual measurements of the magnon relaxation in the dipolar regime. Our theory provides a simple explanation of a recent experiment probing the different temperatures of the magnon and phonon gases in yttrium-iron garnet.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Optimizing the spin-pumping induced inverse spin Hall voltage by crystal growth in Fe/Pt bilayers

We examine the influence of crystal growth on the spin-pumping induced inverse spin Hall effect in Fe/Pt bilayers. The morphology of the Fe/Pt interface influences the effective spin mixing conductance. The increase of growth temperature leads to smoother and larger grains at the interface that enhance the effective spin mixing conductance. The spin current injection efficiency into Pt, measured by the inverse spin Hall effect, is maximized by optimizing the epitaxy of Pt on Fe. In magnetic field dependent measurements, the presence of a strong magnetic anisotropy gives rise to two distinct inverse spin Hall effect voltage peaks.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Determination of the origin of the spin Seebeck effect - bulk vs. interface effects

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.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Magnonic band gaps in waveguides with a periodic variation of the saturation magnetization

We present a micromagnetic analysis of spin-wave propagation in a magnonic crystal realized as a permalloy spin-wave waveguide with a spatial periodical variation of its saturation magnetization. Frequency band gaps were clearly observed in the spin-wave transmission spectra and their origin is traced back to an overlap of individual band gaps of the fundamental and the higher order spin-wave width modes. The control of the depth, width and the position in frequency and space of the rejection band gaps by the width areas with a reduced magnetization and by the modulation level, are discussed in this study.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

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.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Spin-wave propagation and transformation in a thermal gradient

The influence of a thermal gradient on the propagation properties of externally excited dipolar spin waves in a magnetic insulator waveguide is investigated. It is shown that spin waves propagating towards a colder region along the magnetization direction continuously reduce their wavelength. The wavelength increase of a wave propagating into a hotter region was utilized to realize its decomposition in the partial waveguide modes which are reflected at different locations. This influence of temperature on spin-wave properties is mainly caused by a change in the saturation magnetization and yields promising opportunities for the manipulation of spin waves in spin-caloritronic applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Microscopic magnetic structuring of a spin-wave waveguide by ion implantation in a Ni(81)Fe(19) layer

We investigate the spin-wave excitation in microscopic waveguides fabricated by localized Cr+ ion implantation in a ferromagnetic Ni(81)Fe(19) film. We demonstrate that spin-wave waveguides can be conveniently made by this technique. The magnetic patterning technique yields an increased damping and a reduction in saturation magnetization in the implanted regions that can be extracted from Brillouin light scattering measurements of the spin-wave excitation spectra. Furthermore, the waveguide performance as well as the internal field of the waveguide depend on the doping fluence. The results prove that localized ion implantation is a powerful tool for the patterning of magnon spintronic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Magnon-phonon coupling unmasked: a direct measurement of magnon temperature

Thermoelectric phenomena in magnetic materials present tantalizing possibilities for manipulating spin-information using heat in future 'spin caloritronic' devices. Key to unraveling their underlying physics is to understand spin-lattice interactions, i.e. the coupling between magnons (the quanta of magnetization excitations) and phonons (the quanta of lattice vibrations). Here, we present the first measurements of the spatial distribution of magnon temperature in a magnetic system subject to a lateral thermal (i.e. phonon temperature) gradient and demonstrate that, contrary to currently accepted theory, the magnon and phonon temperatures do not differ. This result has profound implications. In particular, it re-opens the question of how the spin Seebeck effect-which allows spin currents to be produced from thermal gradients, and is arguably the most intriguing and technologically relevant thermoelectric phenomenon of all-can exist, and which physics underpins it. Specifically, it reveals that if the general framework of the current theory of the effect holds, we must adopt a new concept of spectrally non-uniform magnon temperature.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2011

Oscillatory Energy Exchange Between Waves Coupled by a Dynamic Artificial Crystal

We describe a general mechanism of controllable energy exchange between waves propagating in a dynamic artificial crystal. We show that if a spatial periodicity is temporarily imposed on the transmission properties of a wave-carrying medium whilst a wave is inside, this wave is coupled to a secondary counter-propagating wave and energy oscillates between the two. The oscillation frequency is determined by the width of the spectral band gap created by the periodicity and the frequency difference between the coupled waves. The effect is demonstrated with spin waves in a dynamic magnonic crystal.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Mechanisms of nonlinear spin-wave emission from a microwave driven nanocontact

We present a micromagnetic study of linear and nonlinear spin-wave modes excited in an extended permalloy thin film by a microwave driven nanocontact. We show that the linear mode having the frequency equal to the excitation frequency (f) is driven by the ac Oersted field component perpendicular to the static external field (applied in-plane of the sample). The nonlinear mode with the frequency f /2 is excited as an independent eigenmode within a parametric longitudinal pumping process (due ac Oersted field component parallel to the bias field). Spectral positions of those modes are determined both in the space and phase domain. The results are important for the transfer of information coded into spin-waves between nanocontacts, and for synchronization of spin transfer torque nano-oscillators.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Spin pumping by parametrically excited exchange magnons

We experimentally show that exchange magnons can be detected using a combination of spin pumping and inverse spin-Hall effect (iSHE) proving its wavelength integrating capability down to the sub-micrometer scale. The magnons were injected in a ferrimagnetic yttrium iron garnet film by parametric pumping and the iSHE-induced 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. This study opens the field of the magnon-based information processing to magnons with nano-scale wavelengths.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Acoustic spin pumping as the origin of the long-range spin Seebeck effect

The spin Seebeck effect (SSE) is known as the generation of 'spin voltage' in a magnet as a result of a temperature gradient. Spin voltage stands for the potential for spins, which drives a spin current. The SSE is of crucial importance in spintronics and energy-conversion technology, since it enables simple and versatile generation of spin currents from heat. The SSE has been observed in a variety of materials ranging from magnetic metals and semiconductors to magnetic insulators. However, the mechanism, the long-range nature, of the SSE in metals is still to be clarified. Here we found that, using a Ni81Fe19/Pt bilayer wire on an insulating sapphire plate, the long-range spin voltage induced by the SSE in magnetic metals is due to phonons. Under a temperature gradient in the sapphire, surprisingly, the voltage generated in the Pt layer is shown to reflect the wire position, although the wire is isolated both electrically and magnetically. This non-local voltage is direct evidence that the SSE is attributed to the coupling of spins and phonons. We demonstrate this coupling by directly injecting sound waves, which realizes the acoustic spin pumping. Our finding opens the door to "acoustic spintronics" in which phonons are exploited for constructing spin-based devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2011

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 NiFe-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.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Analytical expression of the magneto-optical Kerr effect and Brillouin light scattering intensity arising from dynamic magnetization

Time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) and Brillouin light scattering (BLS) spectroscopy are important techniques for the investigation of magnetization dynamics. Within this article, we calculate analytically the MOKE and BLS signals from prototypical spin-wave modes in the ferromagnetic layer. The reliability of the analytical expressions is confirmed by optically exact numerical calculations. Finally, we discuss the dependence of the MOKE and BLS signals on the ferromagnetic layer thickness.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2009

Exchange stiffness in Co$_{2}$-based Heusler compounds

We determine the spin wave exchange stiffness $D$ and the exchange constant $A$ for the full Heusler compound \CFS using Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy. We find an extraordinarily large value of $D=715\pm20$ meV Å$^2$ ($A=31.5\pm1.0$ pJ/m) which is, to the best of our knowledge, only surpassed by the intermetallic compound Fe$_{53}$Co$_{47}$ (J. Appl. Phys. \textbf{75}, 7021 (1994)). Furthermore, we provide a systematization of the exchange stiffnesses determined for a variety of Co$_2$-based Heusler compounds. We find that for the investigated compounds, the exchange stiffness is a function of the valence electron concentration and the crystallographic ordering. The exchange stiffness increases when the valence electron concentration and/or the amount of the L2$_1$ ordering increase. A qualitative explanation for the dependence on the valence electron concentration is provided.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2009

A spin-wave frequency doubler by domain wall oscillation

We present a new mechanism for spin-wave excitation using a pinned domain wall which is forced to oscillate at its eigenfrequency and radiates spin waves. The domain wall acts as a frequency doubler, as the excited spin waves have twice the frequency of the domain wall oscillation. The investigations have been carried out using micromagnetic simulations and enable the determination of the main characteristics of the excited spin-waves such as frequency, wavelength, and velocity. This behavior is understood by the oscillation in the perpendicular magnetization which shows two anti-nodes oscillating out of phase with respect to each other.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗