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Dirk Grundler

Publications and source records attributed to Dirk Grundler.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Spin wave dispersion of ultra-low damping hematite ($α\text{-Fe}_2\text{O}_3$) at GHz frequencies

Low magnetic damping and high group velocity of spin waves (SWs) or magnons are two crucial parameters for functional magnonic devices. Magnonics research on signal processing and wave-based computation at GHz frequencies focussed on the artificial ferrimagnetic garnet Y$_3$Fe$_5$O$_{12}$ (YIG) so far. We report on spin-wave spectroscopy studies performed on the natural mineral hematite ($α\text{-Fe}_2\text{O}_3$) which is a canted antiferromagnet. By means of broadband GHz spectroscopy and inelastic light scattering, we determine a damping coefficient of $1.1\times10^{-5}$ and magnon group velocities of a few 10 km/s, respectively, at room temperature. Covering a large regime of wave vectors up to $k\approx 24~{\rm rad}/μ$m, we find the exchange stiffness length to be relatively short and only about 1 Å. In a small magnetic field of 30 mT, the decay length of SWs is estimated to be 1.1 cm similar to the best YIG. Still, inelastic light scattering provides surprisingly broad and partly asymmetric resonance peaks. Their characteristic shape is induced by the large group velocities, low damping and distribution of incident angles inside the laser beam. Our results promote hematite as an alternative and sustainable basis for magnonic devices with fast speeds and low losses based on a stable natural mineral.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Reversal of nanomagnets by propagating magnons in ferrimagnetic yttrium iron garnet enabling nonvolatile magnon memory

Despite the unprecedented downscaling of CMOS integrated circuits, memory-intensive machine learning and artificial intelligence applications are limited by data conversion between memory and processor. There is a challenging quest for novel approaches to overcome this so-called von Neumann bottleneck. Magnons are the quanta of spin waves and transport angular momenta through magnets. They enable power-efficient computation without charge flow and would solve the conversion problem if spin wave amplitudes could be stored directly in a magnetic memory cell. Here, we report the reversal of ferromagnetic nanostripes by spin waves which propagate through an underlying spin-wave bus made from yttrium iron garnet. Thereby, the charge-free angular momentum flow is stored after transmission over a macroscopic distance. We show that spin waves can reverse large arrays of ferromagnetic stripes at a strikingly small power level of nW. Combined with the already existing wave logic, our discovery is path-breaking for the new era of magnonics-based in-memory computation and beyond von Neumann computer architectures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Imaging the ultrafast coherent control of a skyrmion crystal

Exotic magnetic textures emerging from the subtle interplay between thermodynamic and topological fluctuation have attracted intense interest due to their potential applications in spintronic devices. Recent advances in electron microscopy have enabled the imaging of random photo-generated individual skyrmions. However, their deterministic and dynamical manipulation is hampered by the chaotic nature of such fluctuations and the intrinsically irreversible switching between different minima in the magnetic energy landscape. Here, we demonstrate a method to coherently control the rotation of a skyrmion crystal by discrete amounts at speeds which are much faster than previously observed. By employing circularly polarized femtosecond laser pulses with an energy below the bandgap of the Mott insulator Cu2OSeO3, we excite a collective magnon mode via the inverse Faraday effect. This triggers coherent magnetic oscillations that directly control the rotation of a skyrmion crystal imaged by cryo-Lorentz Transmission Electron Microscopy. The manipulation of topological order via ultrafast laser pulses shown here can be used to engineer fast spin-based logical devices.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Spin Dynamics, Loop Formation and Cooperative Reversal in Artificial Quasicrystals with Tailored Exchange Coupling

Aperiodicity and un-conventional rotational symmetries allow quasicrystalline structures to exhibit unprecedented physical and functional properties. In magnetism, artificial ferromagnetic quasicrystals exhibited knee anomalies suggesting reprogrammable magnetic properties via nonstochastic switching. However, the decisive roles of short-range exchange and long-range dipolar interactions have not yet been clarified for optimized reconfigurable functionality. We report broadband spin-wave spectroscopy and X-ray photoemission electron microscopy on different quasicrystal lattices consisting of ferromagnetic Ni81Fe19 nanobars arranged on aperiodic Penrose and Ammann tilings with different exchange and dipolar interactions. We imaged the magnetic states of partially reversed quasicrystals and analyzed their configurations in terms of the charge model, geometrical frustration and the formation of flux-closure loops. Only the exchange-coupled lattices are found to show aperiodicity-specific collective phenomena and non-stochastic switching. Both, exchange and dipolarly coupled quasicrystals show magnonic excitations with narrow linewidths in minor loop measurements. Thereby reconfigurable functionalities in spintronics and magnonics become realistic.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Magnetochiral Properties of Spin Waves Existing in Nanotubes with Axial and Circumferential Magnetization

We report experimental studies of spin-wave excitations in individual 22 nm thick Ni80Fe20 nanotubes with diameters of about 150 nm by means of Brillouin light-scattering (BLS) spectroscopy. Irradiated by microwaves we resolve sets of discrete resonances in the center of nanotubes ranging from 2.5 to 12.5 GHz. Comparing to a recent theoretical work and micromagnetic simulations, we identify different characteristic eigenmodes depending on the axial, mixed or vortex configuration. The mixed and vortex states give rise to modes with helical phase profiles substantiating an unusual nature of modes attributed to non-reciprocal spin waves. Our findings provide microscopic insight into tubular spin-wave nanocavities and magnetochiral effects for 3D nanomagnonics.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Ni$_{80}$Fe$_{20}$ Nanotubes with Optimized Spintronic Functionalities Prepared by Atomic Layer Deposition

Permalloy Ni$_{80}$Fe$_{20}$ is one of the key magnetic materials in the field of magnonics. Its potential would be further unveiled if it could be deposited in three dimensional (3D) architectures of sizes down to the nanometer. Atomic Layer Deposition, ALD, is the technique of choice for covering arbitrary shapes with homogeneous thin films. Early successes with ferromagnetic materials include nickel and cobalt. Still, challenges in depositing ferromagnetic alloys reside in the synthesis via decomposing the consituent elements at the same temperature and homogeneously. We report plasma-enhanced ALD to prepare permalloy Ni$_{80}$Fe$_{20}$ thin films and nanotubes using nickelocene and iron(III) tert-butoxide as metal precursors, water as the oxidant agent and an in-cycle plasma enhanced reduction step with hydrogen. We have optimized the ALD cycle in terms of Ni:Fe atomic ratio and functional properties. We obtained a Gilbert damping of 0.013, a resistivity of 28 $μΩ$cm and an anisotropic magnetoresistance effect of 5.6 $\%$ in the planar thin film geometry. We demonstrate that the process also works for covering GaAs nanowires, resulting in permalloy nanotubes with high aspect ratios and diameters of about 150 nm. Individual nanotubes were investigated in terms of crystal phase, composition and spin-dynamic response by microfocused Brillouin Light Scattering. Our results enable NiFe-based 3D spintronics and magnonic devices in curved and complex topology operated in the GHz frequency regime.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Bistable nanomagnet as programmable phase inverter for spin waves

To realize spin wave logic gates programmable phase inverters are essential. We image with phase-resolved Brillouin light scattering microscopy propagating spin waves in a one-dimensional magnonic crystal consisting of dipolarly coupled magnetic nanostripes. We demonstrate phase shifts upon a single nanostripe of opposed magnetization. Using micromagnetic simulations we model our experimental finding in a wide parameter space of bias fields and wave vectors. We find that low-loss phase inversion is achieved, when the internal field of the oppositely magnetized nanostripe is tuned such that the latter supports a resonant standing spin wave mode with odd quantization number at the given frequency. Our results are key for the realization of phase inverters with optimized signal transmission.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Confined dipole and exchange spin waves in a bulk chiral magnet with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction

The Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) has an impact on excited spin waves in the chiral magnet Cu$_2$OSeO$_3$ by means of introducing asymmetry on their dispersion relations. The confined eigenmodes of a chiral magnet are hence no longer the conventional standing spin waves. Here we report a combined experimental and micromagnetic modeling study by broadband microwave spectroscopy we observe confined spin waves up to eleventh order in bulk Cu$_2$OSeO$_3$ in the field-polarized state. In micromagnetic simulations we find similarly rich spectra. They indicate the simultaneous excitation of both dipole- and exchange-dominated spin waves with wavelengths down to (47.2 $\pm$ 0.05) nm attributed to the exchange interaction modulation. Our results suggest DMI to be effective to create exchange spin waves in a bulk sample without the challenging nanofabrication and thereby to explore their scattering with noncollinear spin textures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Dipolar-stabilized first and second-order antiskyrmions in ferrimagnetic multilayers

Skyrmions and antiskyrmions are topologically protected spin structures with opposite topological charge. Particularly in coexisting phases, these two types of magnetic quasi-particles may show fascinating physics and potential for spintronic devices. While skyrmions are observed in a wide range of materials, until now antiskyrmions were exclusive to materials with D2d symmetry. In this work, we show first and second-order antiskyrmions stabilized by magnetic dipole-dipole interaction in Fe/Gd-based multilayers. We modify the magnetic properties of the multilayers by Ir insertion layers. Using Lorentz transmission electron microscopy imaging, we observe coexisting antiskyrmions, Bloch skyrmions, and type-2 bubbles and determine the range of material properties and magnetic fields where the different spin objects form and dissipate. We perform micromagnetic simulations to obtain more insight into the studied system and conclude that the reduction of saturation magnetization and uniaxial anisotropy leads to the existence of this zoo of different spin objects and that they are primarily stabilized by dipolar interaction.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Nonreciprocal surface acoustic wave propagation via magneto-rotation coupling

One of the most fundamental forms of magnon-phonon interaction is an intrinsic property of magnetic materials, the "magnetoelastic coupling". This particular form of interaction has been the basis for describing magnetic materials and their strain related applications, where strain induces changes of internal magnetic fields. Different from the magnetoelastic coupling, more than 40 years ago, it was proposed that surface acoustic waves may induce surface magnons via rotational motion of the lattice in anisotropic magnets. However, a signature of this magnon-phonon coupling mechanism, termed magneto-rotation coupling, has been elusive. Here, we report the first observation and theoretical framework of the magneto-rotation coupling in a perpendicularly anisotropic ultra-thin film Ta/CoFeB(1.6 nm)/MgO, which consequently induces nonreciprocal acoustic wave attenuation with a unprecedented ratio up to 100$\%$ rectification at the theoretically predicted optimized condition. Our work not only experimentally demonstrates a fundamentally new path for investigating magnon-phonon coupling, but also justify the feasibility of the magneto-rotation coupling based application.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Chiral spin-wave velocities induced by all-garnet interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in ultrathin yttrium iron garnet films

Spin waves can probe the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) which gives rise to topological spin textures, such as skyrmions. However, the DMI has not yet been reported in yttrium iron garnet (YIG) with arguably the lowest damping for spin waves. In this work, we experimentally evidence the interfacial DMI in a 7~nm-thick YIG film by measuring the nonreciprocal spin wave propagation in terms of frequency, amplitude and most importantly group velocities using all electrical spin-wave spectroscopy. The velocities of propagating spin waves show chirality among three vectors, i.e. the film normal direction, applied field and spin-wave wavevector. By measuring the asymmetric group velocities, we extract a DMI constant of 16~$μ$J/m$^{2}$ which we independently confirm by Brillouin light scattering. Thickness-dependent measurements reveal that the DMI originates from the oxide interface between the YIG and garnet substrate. The interfacial DMI discovered in the ultrathin YIG films is of key importance for functional chiral magnonics as ultra-low spin-wave damping can be achieved.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Optimization of Multi-Frequency Magnonic Waveguides with Enhanced Group Velocities by Exchange Coupled Ferrimagnet/Ferromagnet Bilayers

We report broadband spectroscopy and numerical analysis by which we explore propagating spin waves in a magnetic bilayer consisting of a 23 nm thick permalloy film deposited on 130 nm thick $Y_{3}Fe_{5}O_{12}$. In the bilayer, we observe a characteristic mode that exhibits a considerably larger group velocity at small in-plane magnetic field than both the magnetostatic and perpendicular standing spin waves. Using the finite element method, we confirm the observations by simulating the mode profiles and dispersion relations. They illustrate the hybridization of spin wave modes due to exchange coupling at the interface. The high-speed propagating mode found in the bilayer can be utilized to configure multi-frequency spin wave channels enhancing the performance of spin wave based logic devices.

physics.app-ph↗

Collective spin excitations of helices and magnetic skyrmions: review and perspectives of magnonics in non-centrosymmetric magnets

Magnetic materials hosting correlated electrons play an important role for information technology and signal processing. The currently used ferro-, ferri- and antiferromagnetic materials provide microscopic moments (spins) that are mainly collinear. Recently more complex spin structures such as spin helices and cycloids have regained a lot of interest. The interest has been initiated by the discovery of the skyrmion lattice phase in non-centrosymmetric helical magnets. In this review we address how spin helices and skyrmion lattices enrich the microwave characteristics of magnetic materials. When discussing perspectives for microwave electronics and magnonics we focus particularly on insulating materials as they avoid eddy current losses, offer low spin-wave damping, and might allow for electric field control of collective spin excitations. Thereby, they further fuel the vision of magnonics operated at low energy consumption.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Magnetic Excitations in the Multiferroic Néel-type Skyrmion Host GaV$_4$S$_8$

Broadband microwave spectroscopy has been performed on single-crystalline GaV$_4$S$_8$, which exhibits a complex magnetic phase diagram including cycloidal, Néel-type skyrmion lattice, as well as field-polarized ferromagnetic phases below 13 K. At zero and small magnetic fields two collective modes are found at 5 and 15 GHz, which are characteristic of the cycloidal state in this easy-axis magnet. In finite fields, entering the skyrmion lattice phase, the spectrum transforms into a multi-mode pattern with absorption peaks near 4, 8, and 15 GHz. The spin excitation spectra in GaV$_4$S$_8$ and their field dependencies are found to be in close relation to those observed in materials with Bloch-type skyrmions. Distinct differences arise from the strong uniaxial magnetic anisotropy of GaV4S8 not present in so-far known skyrmion hosts.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Alternative method for the quantitative determination of Rashba- and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction using the magnetization

The quantum oscillatory magnetization M of a two-dimensional electron system in a magnetic field B is found to provide quantitative information on both the Rashba- and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction (SOI). This is shown by first numerically solving the model Hamiltonian including the linear Rashba- and Dresselhaus SOI and the Zeeman term in an in particular doubly tilted magnetic field and second evaluating the intrinsically anisotropic magnetization for different directions of the in-plane magnetic field component. The amplitude of specific magnetic quantum oscillations in M(B) is found to be a direct measure of the SOI strength at fields B where SOI-induced Landau level anticrossings occur. The anisotropic M allows one to quantify the magnitude of both contributions as well as their relative sign. We use realistic sample parameters and show that recently reported experimental techniques provide a sensitivity which allows for the detection of the predicted phenomena.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗