arXiv subjects

Joseph Barker

Publications and source records attributed to Joseph Barker.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

A review of modelling in ferrimagnetic spintronics

In this review we introduce computer modelling and simulation techniques which are used for ferrimagnetic materials. We focus on models where thermal effects are accounted for, atomistic spin dynamics and finite temperature macrospin approaches. We survey the literature of two of the most commonly modelled ferrimagnets in the field of spintronics--the amorphous alloy GdFeCo and the magnetic insulator yttrium iron garnet. We look at how generic models and material specific models have been applied to predict and understand spintronic experiments, focusing on the fields of ultrafast magnetisation dynamics, spincaloritronics and magnetic textures dynamics and give an outlook for modelling in ferrimagnetic spintronics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Electronic structure and finite temperature magnetism of yttrium iron garnet

Yttrium iron garnet is a complex ferrimagnetic insulator with 20 magnon modes which is used extensively in fundamental experimental studies of magnetisation dynamics. As a transition metal oxide with moderate gap (2.8 eV), yttrium iron garnet requires a careful treatment of electronic correlation. We have applied quasiparticle self-consistent GW to provide a fully ab initio description of the electronic structure and resulting magnetic properties, including the parameterisation of a Heisenberg model for magnetic exchange interactions. Subsequent spin dynamical modelling with quantum statistics extends our description to the magnon spectrum and thermodynamic properties such as the Curie temperature, finding favourable agreement with experimental measurements. This work provides a snapshot of the state-of-the art in modelling of complex magnetic insulators.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Enhanced spin-orbit coupling in a heavy metal via molecular coupling

Heavy metals are key to spintronics because of their high spin-orbit coupling (SOC) leading to efficient spin conversion and strong magnetic interactions. When C60 is deposited on Pt, the molecular interface is metallised and the spin Hall angle in YIG/Pt increased, leading to an enhancement of up to 600% in the spin Hall magnetoresistance and 700% for the anisotropic magnetoresistance. This correlates with Density Functional Theory simulations showing changes of 0.46 eV/C60 in the SOC of Pt. This effect opens the possibility of gating the molecular hybridisation and SOC of metals.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Spin Seebeck effect in the layered ferromagnetic insulators CrSiTe$_3$ and CrGeTe$_3$

We have studied the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE) in the layered ferromagnetic insulators CrSiTe$_3$ and CrGeTe$_3$ covered by Pt films in the measurement configuration where spin current traverses the ferromagnetic Cr layers. The LSSE response is clearly observed in the ferromagnetic phase and, in contrast to a standard LSSE magnet Y$_3$Fe$_5$O$_{12}$, persists above the critical temperatures in both CrSiTe$_3$/Pt and CrGeTe$_3$/Pt samples. With the help of a numerical calculation, we attribute the LSSE signals observed in the paramagnetic regime to exchange-dominated interlayer transport of in-plane paramagnetic moments reinforced by short-range ferromagnetic correlations and strong Zeeman effects.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Quantum thermodynamics of complex ferrimagnets

High-quality magnets such as yttrium iron garnet (YIG) are electrically insulating and very complex. By implementing a quantum thermostat into atomistic spin dynamics we compute YIG's key thermodynamic properties, viz. the magnon power spectrum and specific heat, for a large temperature range. The results differ (sometimes spectacularly) from simple models and classical statistics, but agree with available experimental data.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Dissecting spin-phonon equilibration in ferrimagnetic insulators by ultrafast lattice excitation

To gain control over magnetic order on ultrafast time scales, a fundamental understanding of the way electron spins interact with the surrounding crystal lattice is required. However, measurement and analysis even of basic collective processes such as spin-phonon equilibration have remained challenging. Here, we directly probe the flow of energy and angular momentum in the model insulating ferrimagnet yttrium iron garnet. Following ultrafast resonant lattice excitation, we observe that magnetic order reduces on distinct time scales of 1 ps and 100 ns. Temperature-dependent measurements, a spin-coupling analysis and simulations show that the two dynamics directly reflect two stages of spin-lattice equilibration. On the 1-ps scale, spins and phonons reach quasi-equilibrium in terms of energy through phonon-induced modulation of the exchange interaction. This mechanism leads to identical demagnetization of the ferrimagnet's two spin-sublattices and a novel ferrimagnetic state of increased temperature yet unchanged total magnetization. Finally, on the much slower, 100-ns scale, the excess of spin angular momentum is released to the crystal lattice, resulting in full equilibrium. Our findings are relevant for all insulating ferrimagnets and indicate that spin manipulation by phonons, including the spin Seebeck effect, can be extended to antiferromagnets and into the terahertz frequency range.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Spin colossal magnetoresistance in an antiferromagnetic insulator

Colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) refers to a large change in electrical conductivity induced by a magnetic field in the vicinity of a metal-insulator transition and has inspired extensive studies for decades\cite{Ramirez1997, Tokura2006}. Here we demonstrate an analogous spin effect near the Néel temperature $T_{\rm{N}}$=296 K of the antiferromagnetic insulator \CrO. Using a yttrium iron garnet \YIG/\CrO/Pt trilayer, we injected a spin current from the YIG into the \CrO layer, and collected via the inverse spin Hall effect the signal transmitted in the heavy metal Pt. We observed a change by two orders of magnitude in the transmitted spin current within 14 K of the Néel temperature. This transition between spin conducting and nonconducting states could be also modulated by a magnetic field in isothermal conditions. This effect, that we term spin colossal magnetoresistance (SCMR), has the potential to simplify the design of fundamental spintronics components, for instance enabling the realization of spin current switches or spin-current based memories.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Non-local magnon transport in the compensated ferrimagnet GdIG

We study the diffusive transport of magnons through the compensated ferrimagnetic insulator Gd3Fe5O12 (GdIG). The magnons are injected and detected electrically in a non-local measurement configuration via two parallel Pt strips deposited on top of the ferrimagnet. GdIG exhibits a rich magnon spectrum, with several thermally populated magnon bands at room temperature. We observe a strong temperature and field dependence of the non-local voltage in the detector strip. Just below the magnetization compensation temperature we find that the increasing magnetic field causes an unexpected enhancement of the non-local signal. A comparison with GdIG spin wave spectra obtained from atomistic modeling indicates that the thermal magnon population is important for understanding the non-local voltage signal.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Tunable sign change of spin Hall magnetoresistance in Pt/NiO/YIG structures

Spin Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) has been investigated in Pt/NiO/YIG structures in a wide range of temperature and NiO thickness. The SMR shows a negative sign below a temperature which increases with the NiO thickness. This is contrary to a conventional SMR theory picture applied to Pt/YIG bilayer which always predicts a positive SMR. The negative SMR is found to persist even when NiO blocks the spin transmission between Pt and YIG, indicating it is governed by the spin current response of NiO layer. We explain the negative SMR by the NiO 'spin-flop' coupled with YIG, which can be overridden at higher temperatures by positive SMR contribution from YIG. This highlights the role of magnetic structure in antiferromagnets for transport of pure spin current in multilayers.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

First-Principles Study of Exchange Interactions of Yttrium Iron Garnet

Yttrium Iron Garnet is the ubiquitous magnetic insulator used for studying pure spin currents. The exchange constants reported in the literature vary considerably between different experiments and fitting procedures. Here we calculate them from first-principles. The local Coulomb correction (U - J) of density functional theory is chosen such that the parameterized spin model reproduces the experimental Curie temperature and a large electronic band gap, ensuring an insulating phase. The magnon spectrum calculated with our parameters agrees reasonably well with that measured by neutron scattering. A residual disagreement about the frequencies of optical modes indicates the limits of the present methodology.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Thermal spin dynamics of yttrium iron garnet

Yttrium Iron Garnet is the prototypical material used to study pure spin currents. It is a complex material with 20 magnetic atoms in the unit cell. Almost all theories and experimental analysis approximates this complicated material to a simple ferromagnet with a single spin wave mode. We use the method of atomistic spin dynamics to study the temperature evolution of the full 20 mode exchange spin wave spectrum. Our results show a strong frequency dependence of the modes in quantitative agreement with neutron scattering experiments. We find this causes in a reduction in the net spin pumping due to the thermal occupation of optical modes with the opposite chirality to the FMR mode.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Spin Hall Magnetoresistance in a Canted Ferrimagnet

We study the spin Hall magnetoresistance effect in ferrimagnet/normal metal bilayers, comparing the response in collinear and canted magnetic phases. In the collinear magnetic phase, in which the sublattice magnetic moments are all aligned along the same axis, we observe the conventional spin Hall magnetoresistance. In contrast, in the canted phase, the magnetoresistance changes sign. Using atomistic spin model calculations of the magnetic configuration, we show that the electric transport for the different magnetic phases can be rationalized considering the individual sublattice moment orientations. This enables a magneto-transport based investigation of non-collinear magnetic textures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Static and Dynamical Properties of Antiferromagnetic Skyrmions in the Presence of Applied Current and Temperature

Skyrmions are topologically protected entities in magnetic materials which have the potential to be used in spintronics for information storage and processing. However, Skyrmions in ferromagnets have some intrinsic difficulties which must be overcome to use them for spintronic applications, such as the inability to move straight along current. We show that Skyrmions can also be stabilized and manipulated in antiferromagnetic materials. An antiferromagnetic Skyrmion is a compound topological object with a similar but of opposite sign spin texture on each sublattice, which e.g. results in a complete cancelation of the Magnus force. We find that the composite nature of antiferromagnetic Skyrmions gives rise to different dynamical behavior, both due to an applied current and temperature effects.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Higher order exchange interactions leading to metamagnetism in FeRh

The origin of the metamagnetic antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic phase transition of FeRh is a subject of much debate. Competing explanations invoke magnetovolume effects and purely ther- modynamic transitions within the spin system. It is experimentally difficult to observe the changes in the magnetic system and the lattice simultaneously, leading to differing conclusions over which mechanism is responsible for the phase transition. A non-collinear electronic structure study by Mryasov [O.N. Mryasov, Phase Transitions 78, 197 (2005)] showed that non-linear behavior of the Rh moment leads to higher order exchange terms in FeRh. Using atomistic spin dynamics (ASD) we demonstrate that the phase transition can occur due to the competition between bilinear and the higher order four spin exchange terms in an effective spin Hamiltonian. The phase transition we see is of first order and shows thermal hysteresis in agreement with experimental observations. Simulating sub-picosecond laser heating we show an agreement with pump-probe experiments with a ferromagnetic response on a picosecond timescale.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗