arXiv subjects

Z. Kaspar

Publications and source records attributed to Z. Kaspar.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2020

Investigation of Magnetic Anisotropy and Heat Dissipation in Thin Films of Compensated Antiferromagnet CuMnAs by Pump-probe Experiment

We recently reported on a method to determine the easy axis position in a 10 nm thick film of the fully compensated antiferromagnet CuMnAs. The film had a uniaxial magnetic anisotropy and the technique utilized a magneto-optical pump and probe experiment [Nature Photonics 11, 91 (2017)]. In this contribution we discuss the applicability of this method for the investigation of a broader set of epitaxial CuMnAs films having different thicknesses. This work reveals that the equilibrium magnetic anisotropy can be studied only in samples where this anisotropy is rather strong. However, in the majority of CuMnAs films, the impact of a strong pump pulse induces nano-fragmentation of the magnetic domains and, therefore, the magnetic anisotropy measured by the pump-probe technique differs substantially from that in the equilibrium conditions. We also demonstrate that optical pump-probe experiment can be used very efficiently to study the local heating and heat dissipation in CuMnAs epitaxial layers. In particular, we determined the electron-phonon relaxation time in CuMnAs. We also observed that for a local film heating by a focused laser the thinner films are heated more, but the heat is dissipated considerably faster than in the case of thicker films. This illustrates that the optical pump-probe experiment is a valuable characterization tool for the heat management optimization in the CuMnAs memory devices and can be applied in a similar way to those used during heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology development for the latest generation of hard drive disks.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Electrically induced and detected Néel vector reversal in a collinear antiferromagnet

Electrical detection of the 180 deg spin reversal, which is the basis of the operation of ferromagnetic memories, is among the outstanding challenges in the research of antiferromagnetic spintronics. Analogous effects to the ferromagnetic giant or tunneling magnetoresistance have not yet been realized in antiferromagnetic multilayers. Anomalous Hall effect (AHE), which has been recently employed for spin reversal detection in non-collinear antiferromagnets, is limited to materials that crystalize in ferromagnetic symmetry groups. Here we demonstrate electrical detection of the 180 deg Néel vector reversal in CuMnAs which comprises two collinear spin sublattices and belongs to an antiferromagnetic symmetry group with no net magnetic moment. We detect the spin reversal by measuring a second-order magnetotransport coefficient whose presence is allowed in systems with broken space inversion symmetry. The phenomenology of the non-linear transport effect we observe in CuMnAs is consistent with a microscopic scenario combining anisotropic magneto-resistance (AMR) with a transient tilt of the Néel vector due to a current-induced, staggered spin-orbit field. We use the same staggered spin-orbit field, but of a higher amplitude, for the electrical switching between reversed antiferromagnetic states which are stable and show no sign of decay over 25 hour probing times.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

THz electrical writing speed in an antiferromagnetic memory

The speed of writing of state-of-the-art ferromagnetic memories is physically limited by an intrinsic GHz threshold. Recently, an alternative research direction has been initiated by realizing memory devices based on antiferromagnets in which spin directions periodically alternate from one atomic lattice site to the next. In our work we experimentally demonstrate at room temperature that the speed of reversible electrical writing in a memory device can be scaled up to THz using an antiferromagnet. Efficient current-induced spin-torque mechanism is responsible for the switching in our memory devices throughout the twelve orders of magnitude range of writing speeds from Hz to THz. Our work opens the path towards the development of memory-logic technology reaching the elusive THz band.

physics.app-ph↗