arXiv subjects

Hyunsoo Yang

Publications and source records attributed to Hyunsoo Yang.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Efficient Charge-Spin Conversion and Magnetization Switching though Rashba Effect at Topological Insulator/Ag Interface

We report the observation of efficient charge-to-spin conversion in the three-dimensional topological insulator (TI) Bi2Se3 and Ag bilayer by the spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance technique. The spin orbit torque ratio in the Bi2Se3/Ag/CoFeB heterostructure shows a significant enhancement as the Ag thickness increases to ~2 nm and reaches a value of 0.5 for 5 nm Ag, which is ~3 times higher than that of Bi2Se3/CoFeB at room temperature. The observation reveals the interfacial effect of Bi2Se3/Ag exceeds that of the topological surface states (TSS) in the Bi2Se3 layer and plays a dominant role in the charge-to-spin conversion in the Bi2Se3/Ag/CoFeB system. Based on the first-principles calculations, we attribute our observation to the large Rashba-splitting bands which wrap the TSS band and has the same net spin polarization direction as TSS of Bi2Se3. Subsequently, we demonstrate for the first time the Rashba induced magnetization switching in Bi2Se3/Ag/Py with a low current density of 5.8 X 10^5 A/cm2.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Optical Manipulation of Magnetic Vortex Visualized in situ by 4D Electron Microscopy

Understanding the fundamental dynamics of topological vortex and antivortex naturally formed in micro/nanoscale ferromagnetic building blocks under external perturbations is crucial to magnetic vortex based information processing and spintronic devices. All previous studies have focused on magnetic vortex-core switching via external magnetic fields, spin-polarized currents, or spin waves, which have largely prohibited the investigation of novel spin configurations that could emerge from the ground states in ferromagnetic disks and their underlying dynamics. Here, we report in situ visualization of femtosecond laser quenching induced magnetic vortex change in various symmetric ferromagnetic Permalloy disks by Lorentz phase imaging using 4D electron microscopy. Besides the switching of magnetic vortex chirality and polarity, we observed with distinct occurrence frequencies a plenitude of complex magnetic structures that have never been observed by magnetic field or current assisted switching. These complex magnetic structures consist of a number of newly created topological magnetic defects (vortex and antivortex) strictly conserving the topological winding number, demonstrating the direct impact of topological invariant on the magnetization dynamics in ferromagnetic disks. Their spin configurations show mirror or rotation symmetry due to the geometrical confinement of the disks. Combined micromagnetic simulations with the experimental observations reveal the underlying magnetization dynamics and formation mechanism of the optical quenching induced complex magnetic structures. Their distinct occurrence rates are pertinent to their formation-growth energetics and pinning effects at the disk edge. Based on these findings, we propose a paradigm of optical-quenching-assisted fast switching of vortex cores for the control of magnetic vortex based information recording and spintronic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Oscillatory spin-orbit torque switching induced by field-like torques

Deterministic magnetization switching using spin-orbit torque (SOT) has recently emerged as an efficient means to electrically control the magnetic state of ultrathin magnets. The SOT switching still lacks in oscillatory switching characteristics over time, therefore, it is limited to bipolar operation where a change in polarity of the applied current or field is required for bistable switching. The coherent rotation based oscillatory switching schemes cannot be applied to SOT because the SOT switching occurs through expansion of magnetic domains. Here, we experimentally achieve oscillatory switching in incoherent SOT process by controlling domain wall dynamics. We find that a large field-like component can dynamically influence the domain wall chirality which determines the direction of SOT switching. Consequently, under nanosecond current pulses, the magnetization switches alternatively between the two stable states. By utilizing this oscillatory switching behavior we demonstrate a unipolar deterministic SOT switching scheme by controlling the current pulse duration.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Anomalous spin-orbit torque switching due to field-like torque-assisted domain wall reflection

Spin-orbit torques (SOT) allow the electrical control of magnetic states. Current-induced SOT switching of the perpendicular magnetization is of particular technological importance. The SOT consists of damping-like and field-like torques so that the efficient SOT switching requires to understand combined effects of the two torque-components. Previous quasi-static measurements have reported an increased switching probability with the width of current pulses, as predicted with considering the damping-like torque only. Here we report a decreased switching probability at longer pulse-widths, based on time-resolved measurements. Micromagnetic analysis reveals that this anomalous SOT switching results from domain wall reflections at sample edges. The domain wall reflection is found to strongly depend on the field-like torque and its relative sign to the damping-like torque. Our result demonstrates a key role of the field-like torque in the deterministic SOT switching and notifies the importance of sign correlation of the two torque-components, which may shed light on the SOT switching mechanism.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Room Temperature Giant Charge-to-Spin Conversion at SrTiO3/LaAlO3 Oxide Interface

Two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) formed at the interface between SrTiO3 (STO) and LaAlO3 (LAO) insulating layer is supposed to possess strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling. To date, the inverse Edelstein effect (i.e. spin-to-charge conversion) in the 2DEG layer is reported. However, the direct effect of charge-to-spin conversion, an essential ingredient for spintronic devices in a current induced spin-orbit torque scheme, has not been demonstrated yet. Here we show, for the first time, a highly efficient spin generation with the efficiency of ~6.3 in the STO/LAO/CoFeB structure at room temperature by using spin torque ferromagnetic resonance. In addition, we suggest that the spin transmission through the LAO layer at high temperature range is attributed to the inelastic tunneling via localized states in the LAO band gap. Our findings may lead to potential applications in the oxide insulator based spintronic devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Room temperature magnetization switching in topological insulator-ferromagnet heterostructures by spin-orbit torques

Topological insulators (TIs) with spin momentum locked topological surface states (TSS) are expected to exhibit a giant spin-orbit torque (SOT) in the TI/ferromagnet systems. To date, the TI SOT driven magnetization switching is solely reported in a Cr doped TI at 1.9 K. Here, we directly show giant SOT driven magnetization switching in a Bi2Se3/NiFe heterostructure at room temperature captured using a magneto-optic Kerr effect microscope. We identify a large charge to spin conversion efficiency of ~1-1.75 in the thin TI films, where the TSS is dominant. In addition, we find the current density required for the magnetization switching is extremely low, ~6x10^5 A cm-2, which is one to two orders of magnitude smaller than that with heavy metals. Our demonstration of room temperature magnetization switching of a conventional 3d ferromagnet using Bi2Se3 may lead to potential innovations in TI based spintronic applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Experimental study of extrinsic spin Hall effect in CuPt alloy

We have experimentally studied the effects on the spin Hall angle due to systematic addition of Pt into the light metal Cu. We perform spin torque ferromagnetic resonance measurements on Py/CuPt bilayer and find that as the Pt concentration increases, the spin Hall angle of CuPt alloy increases. Moreover, only 28% Pt in CuPt alloy can give rise to a spin Hall angle close to that of Pt. We further extract the spin Hall resistivity of CuPt alloy for different Pt concentrations and find that the contribution of skew scattering is larger for lower Pt concentrations, while the side-jump contribution is larger for higher Pt concentrations. From technological perspective, since the CuPt alloy can sustain high processing temperatures and Cu is the most common metallization element in the Si platform, it would be easier to integrate the CuPt alloy based spintronic devices into existing Si fabrication technology.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Interfacial Rashba magnetoresistance of two-dimensional electron gas at LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interface

We report the angular dependence of magnetoresistance in two-dimensional electron gas at LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interface. We find that this interfacial magnetoresistance exhibits a similar angular dependence to the spin Hall magnetoresistance observed in ferromagnet/heavy metal bilayers, which has been so far discussed in the framework of bulk spin Hall effect of heavy metal layer. The observed magnetoresistance is in qualitative agreement with theoretical model calculation including both Rashba spin-orbit coupling and exchange interaction. Our result suggests that magnetic interfaces subject to spin-orbit coupling can generate a nonnegligible contribution to the spin Hall magnetoresistance and the interfacial spin-orbit coupling effect is therefore key to the understanding of various spin-orbit-coupling-related phenomena in magnetic/non-magnetic bilayers.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Bilinear magneto-electric resistance as a probe of three-dimensional spin texture in topological surface states

Surface states of three-dimensional topological insulators exhibit the phenomenon of spin-momentum locking, whereby the orientation of an electron spin is determined by its momentum. Probing the spin texture of these states is of critical importance for the realization of topological insulator devices, however the main technique available so far is the spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Here we reveal a close link between the spin texture and a new kind of magneto-resistance, which depends on the relative orientation of the current with respect to the magnetic field as well as the crystallographic axes, and scales linearly with both the applied electric and magnetic fields. This bilinear magneto-electric resistance can be used to map the spin texture of topological surface states by simple transport measurements. For a prototypical Bi2Se3 single layer, we can map both the in-plane and the out-of-plane components of the spin texture - the latter arising from hexagonal warping. Theoretical calculations suggest that the bilinear magneto-electric resistance originates from the conversion of a non-equilibrium spin current into a charge current under the application of the external magnetic field.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Eigenmodes of Neel skyrmions in ultrathin magnetic films

The static and dynamic states of Néel skyrmions in ultrathin ferromagnetic films with interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) have been micromagnetically simulated as functions of the interfacial DMI strength and applied static magnetic field. Findings reveal that while the breathing, counterclockwise (CCW) and clockwise (CW) rotational eigenmodes exist in the skyrmion lattice (SkL) phase, only the first two modes are present in the isolated skyrmion (ISk) phase. Additionally, the eigenfrequency of the CCW mode is insensitive to the magnetic-field driven SkL-ISk phase transition, and the inter-skyrmion interaction is largely responsible for exciting the CW mode in the SkL phase. The findings provide physical insight into the dynamics of the phase transition and would be of use to potential skyrmion-based microwave applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Anomalous current-induced spin torques in ferrimagnets near compensation

While current-induced spin-orbit torques (SOTs) have been extensively studied in ferromagnets and antiferromagnets, ferrimagnets have been less studied. Here we report the presence of enhanced spin-orbit torques resulting from negative exchange interaction in ferrimagnets. The effective field and switching efficiency increase substantially as CoGd approaches its compensation point, giving rise to 9 times larger spin-orbit torques compared to that of non-compensated one. The macrospin modelling results also support efficient spin-orbit torques in a ferrimagnet. Our results suggest that ferrimagnets near compensation can be a new route for spin-orbit torque applications due to their high thermal stability and easy current-induced switching assisted by negative exchange interaction.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Localized surface plasmon resonance in graphene nanomesh with Au nanostructures

A hybrid structure of a graphene nanomesh with the gold nanodisks is studied to enhance the light absorption by localized surface plasmon resonance. From the reflection spectra of the visible range for graphene nanomesh samples without and with nanodisks, it is found that the absorption of graphene nanomesh structures is greatly enhanced in the presence of gold nanodisks around the resonance wavelength. Simulation results based on the finite-difference time-domain method support the experimental observations. This study demonstrates the potential of constructing graphene based photodetectors with a high light absorption efficiency and wavelength selectivity.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Continuous Tuning the Magnitude and Direction of Spin-Orbit Torque Using Bilayer Heavy Metals

Spin-orbit torques (SOTs) have opened a new path to switch the magnetization in perpendicularly magnetized films and are of great interest due to their potential applications in novel data storage technology, such as the magnetic random access memory (MRAM). The effective manipulation of SOT has thus become an important step towards these applications. Here, current induced spin-orbit effective fields and magnetization switching are investigated in Pt/Ta/CoFeB/MgO structures with bilayer heavy metals. With a fixed thickness (1 nm) of the Ta layer, the magnitude and sign of current induced spin-orbit effective fields can be continuously tuned by changing the Pt layer thickness, consistent with the current induced magnetization switching data. The ratio of longitudinal to transverse spin-orbit effective fields is found to be determined by the Ta/CoFeB interface and can be continuously tuned by changing the Pt layer thickness. The Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) is found to be weak and shows an insignificant variation with the Pt thickness. The results demonstrate an effective method to tune SOTs utilizing bilayer heavy metals without affecting the DMI, a desirable feature which will be useful for the design of SOT-based devices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Observation of stable Neel skyrmions in Co/Pd multilayers with Lorentz transmission electron microscopy

Neel skyrmions are of high interest due to their potential applications in a variety of spintronic devices, currently accessible in ultrathin heavy metal/ferromagnetic bilayers and multilayers with a strong Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. Here we report on the direct imaging of chiral spin structures including skyrmions in an exchange coupled Co/Pd multilayer at room temperature with Lorentz transmission electron microscopy, a high resolution technique previously suggested to exhibit no Neel skyrmion contrast. Phase retrieval methods allow us to map the internal spin structure of the skyrmion core, identifying a 25 nm central region of uniform magnetization followed by a larger region characterized by rotation from in- to out-of-plane. The formation and resolution of the internal spin structure of room temperature skyrmions without a stabilizing out-of-plane field in thick magnetic multilayers opens up a new set of tools and materials to study the physics and device applications associated with chiral ordering and skyrmions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Tunable terahertz reflection of graphene via ionic liquid gating

We report a highly efficient tunable THz reflector in graphene. By applying a small gate voltage (up to 3 V), the reflectance of graphene is modulated from a minimum of 0.79% to a maximum of 33.4% using graphene/ionic liquid structures at room temperature, and the reflection tuning is uniform within a wide spectral range (0.1 - 1.5 THz). Our observation is explained by the Drude model, which describes the THz wave-induced intraband transition in graphene. This tunable reflectance of graphene may contribute to broadband THz mirrors, deformable THz mirrors, variable THz beam splitters and other optical components.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Effect of surface state hybridization on current-induced spin-orbit torque in thin topological insulator films

We investigate the current-induced spin-orbit torque in thin topological insulator (TI) films in the presence of hybridization between the top and bottom surface states. We formulate the relation between spin torque and TI thickness, from which we derived the optimal value of the thickness to maximize the torque. We show numerically that in typical TI thin films made of $\mathrm{Bi_2Se_3}$, the optimal thickness is about 3-5 nm.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

High performance THz emitters based on ferromagnetic/nonmagnetic heterostructures

We report a THz emitter with excellent performances based on nonmagnetic (NM) and ferromagnetic (FM) heterostructures. The spin currents are first excited by the femtosecond laser beam in the NM/FM bilayer, and then transient charge currents are generated by inverse spin Hall effect, leading to THz emission out of the structure. The broadband THz waves emitted from our film stacks have a peak intensity exceeding 500 um thick ZnTe crystals (standard THz emitters). Our device is insensitive to the polarization of an incident laser beam which indicates the noise resistive feature. In contrast, the polarization of THz waves is fully controllable by an external magnetic field. We have also fabricated the devices on flexible substrates with a great performance, and demonstrated that the devices can be driven by low power lasers. Together with the low cost and mass productive sputtering growth method for the film stacks, the proposed THz emitters can be readily applied to a wide range of THz equipment. Our study also points towards an alternative approach to characterize spintronic devices with NM/FM bilayers.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Helicity dependent photovoltaic effect in Bi2Se3 under normal incident light

Topological insulators (TIs) form a new class of materials with insulating bulk and surface conduction ensured by topologically protected surface states (TPSS). We investigate the impact of the helicity of a normally incident laser beam on the photovoltaic effect in the TI Bi2Se3. The observation of a helicity dependent photovoltaic effect for normally incident light indicates the presence of out-of-plane spin components for some TPSSs due to the hexagonal warping. In addition, fluctuations in the electrostatic potential at the surface locally break the rotational symmetry of the film allowing the helicity dependent photovoltaic effect. Our result suggests that engineering local electrostatic potentials in Bi2Se3 would allow the control of optically generated spin currents, which may be useful for applications in spin-optoelectronics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗