arXiv subjects

D. L. Mills

Publications and source records attributed to D. L. Mills.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2012

Plasmonic resonances at interfaces patterned by nanoparticle lattices

We present theoretical studies of the nature of the collective plasmon resonances of surfaces upon which ordered lattices of spherical metallic particles have been deposited. The collective plasmon modes, excited by light incident on the surface, are explored for both square and rectangular lattices of particles. The particular resonances excited by an incident beam of light depend on the frequency, polarization, and angles of incidence. We show that one can create surfaces for which the polarization of the reflected light is frequency dependent. The form of the polarization dependent spectra can be tuned by choosing materials and the parameters of the nanoparticle array.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

Spin Currents in Metallic Nanostructures; Explicit Calculations

In ultrathin ferromagnets deposited on metallic substrates, excitation of precessional motion of the spins produces a spin current in the substrate that transports angular momentum out of the film. This phenomenon is referred to as spin pumping, and is a source of damping of the spin motion. Spin pumping enters importantly in the description of spin dynamics in other nanoscale and subnanoscale systems as well. In this paper, we present an approach based on the Kubo formalism that allows the explicit calculation of this spin current and its spatial variation. We use the formalism to explore features of the spin current generated by spin motions in a simple model system.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Anomalously large g-factor of single atoms adsorbed on a metal substrate

We have performed inelastic scanning tunneling spectroscopy (ISTS) on individual Fe atoms adsorbed on a Ag(111) surface. ISTS reveals a magnetization excitation with a lifetime of about 400 fsec which decreases linearly upon application of a magnetic field. Astoundingly, we find that the g-factor, which characterizes the shift in energy of the excitation in a magnetic field, is g = 3.1 instead of the regular value of 2. This enhancement can be understood when considering the complete electronic structure of both the Ag(111) surface state and the Fe atom, as shown by ab initio calculations of the magnetic susceptibility.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Substrate influence on the plasmonic response of clusters of spherical nanoparticles

The plasmonic response of nanoparticles is exploited in many subfields of science and engineering to enhance optical signals associated with probes of nanoscale and subnanoscale entities. We develop a numerical algorithm based on previous theoretical work that addresses the influence of a substrate on the plasmonic response of collections of nanoparticles of spherical shape. Our method is a real space approach within the quasi-static limit that can be applied to a wide range of structures. We illustrate the role of the substrate through numerical calculations that explore single nanospheres and nanosphere dimers fabricated from either a Drude model metal or from silver on dielectric substrates, and from dielectric spheres on silver substrates.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2010

Dynamical magnetic excitations of nanostructures from first-principles

Within time-dependent density functional theory, combined with the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker Green functions, we devise a real space method to investigate spin dynamics. Our scheme enables one to deduce the Coulomb potential which assures a proper Goldstone mode is present. We illustrate with application to 3$d$ adatoms and dimers on Cu(100).

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2010

Theory of Local Dynamical Magnetic Susceptibilities from the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker Green Function Method

Within the framework of time-dependent density functional theory combined with the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker Green function formalism, we present a real space methodology to investigate dynamical magnetic excitations from first-principles. We set forth a scheme which enables one to deduce the correct effective Coulomb potential needed to preserve the spin-invariance signature in the dynamical susceptibilities, i.e. the Goldstone mode. We use our approach to explore the spin dynamics of 3d adatoms and different dimers deposited on a Cu(001) with emphasis on their decay to particle-hole pairs.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Spin Orbit Coupling and Spin Waves in Ultrathin Ferromagnets: The Spin Wave Rashba Effect

We present theoretical studies of the influence of spin orbit coupling on the spin wave excitations of the Fe monolayer and bilayer on the W(110) surface. The Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction is active in such films, by virtue of the absence of reflection symmetry in the plane of the film. When the magnetization is in plane, this leads to a linear term in the spin wave dispersion relation for propagation across the magnetization. The dispersion relation thus assumes a form similar to that of an energy band of an electron trapped on a semiconductor surfaces with Rashba coupling active. We also show SPEELS response functions that illustrate the role of spin orbit coupling in such measurements. In addition to the modifications of the dispersion relations for spin waves, the presence of spin orbit coupling in the W substrate leads to a substantial increase in the linewidth of the spin wave modes. The formalism we have developed applies to a wide range of systems, and the particular system explored in the numerical calculations provides us with an illustration of phenomena which will be present in other ultrathin ferromagnet/substrate combinations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Carbon nanotube: a low-loss spin-current waveguide

We demonstrate with a quantum-mechanical approach that carbon nanotubes are excellent spin-current waveguides and are able to carry information stored in a precessing magnetic moment for long distances with very little dispersion and with tunable degrees of attenuation. Pulsed magnetic excitations are predicted to travel with the nanotube Fermi velocity and are able to induce similar excitations in remote locations. Such an efficient way of transporting magnetic information suggests that nanotubes are promising candidates for memory devices with fast magnetization switchings.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Theory of Brillouin Light Scattering from Ferromagnetic Nanospheres

We develop the theory of Brillouin light scattering (BLS) from spin wave modes in ferromagnetic nanospheres, within a framework that incorporates the spatial variation of the optical fields within the sphere. Our recent theory of exchange dipole spin wave modes of the sphere provides us with eigenvectors. When properly normalized, these eigenvectors allow calculation of the absolute cross section of various modes which contribute to BLS spectrum. We then present explicit calculation of the BLS spectrum associated with the first few dipole/exchange spin wave modes with emphasis on their relative intensity.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

Spin Waves in Ultrathin Ferromagnets: Intermediate Wave Vectors

Our earlier papers explore the nature of large wave vector spin waves in ultrathin ferromagnets, and also the properties and damping of spin waves of zero wave vector, at the center of the two dimensional Brillouin zone, with application to FMR studies. The present paper explores the behavior of spin waves in such films at intermediate wave vectors, which connect the two regimes. For the case of Fe films on Au(100), we study the wave vector dependence of the linewidth of the lowest frequency mode, to find that it contains a term which varies as the fourth power of the wave vector. It is argued that this behavior is expected quite generally. We also explore the nature of the eigenvectors of the two lowest lying modes of the film, as a function of wave vector. Interestingly, as wave vector increases, the lowest mode localizes onto the interface between the film and the substrate, while the second mode evolves into a surface spin wave, localized on the outer layer. We infer similar behavior for a Co film on Cu(100), though this evolution occurs at rather larger wave vectors where, as we have shown previously, the modes are heavily damped with the consequence that identification of distinct eigenmodes is problematical.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2005

Ferromagnetic Resonance Linewidths in Ultrathin Structures: Theoretical Studies of Spin Pumping

We present theoretical studies of the spin pumping contribution to the ferromagnetic resonance linewidth for various ultrathin film ferromagnetic structures. We consider the isolated film on a substrate, with Fe on Au(100) and Fe on W(110) as examples. We explore as well the linewidth from this mechanism for the optical and acoustical collective modes of FM/Cu$_{\rm N}$/FM/Cu(100) structures. The calculations employ a realistic electronic structure, with self consistent ground states generated from the empirical tight binding method, with nine bands for each material in the structure. The spin excitations are generated through use of the random phase approximation applied to the system, including the semi infinite substrate on which the structure is grown. We calculate the frequency response of the system directly by examining the spectral density associated with collective modes whose wave vector parallel to the surface is zero. Linewidths with origin in leakage of spin angular momentum from the adsorbed structure to the semi infinite substrate may be extracted from these results. We discuss a number of issues, including the relationship between the interfilm coupling calculated adiabatically for trilayers, and that extracted from the (dynamical) spin wave spectrum. We obtain excellent agreement with experimental data, within the framework of calculations with no adjustable parameters.

cond-mat.other↗