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Time-resolved scanning Kerr microscopy has been used to perform optically detected, phase-resolved spin–orbit torque ferromagnetic resonance (SOT-FMR) measurements on a microscale CoFeB ellipse at the center of a Pt Hall cross subject to RF and DC current. Time-resolved polar Kerr images revealed localized dynamics with large amplitude at the center and weaker amplitude at the edges. Therefore, field swept SOT-FMR spectra were acquired from the so-called center mode to probe the SOTs active at the center of the ellipse, thus minimizing non-uniform edge contributions. When the magnetic field was applied at 30° from the hard axis of the ellipse and a DC current was applied, a marked asymmetry was observed in the amplitude and linewidth of the FMR peaks as the applied field was reversed. Both absorptive and dispersive parts of the spectra were in good agreement with a macrospin calculation. The damping parameter (α) and the Slonczewski torque parameter were determined to be 0.025 and (6.75 ± 0.75) × 10−7 Oe A−1 cm2, respectively. The hard axis SOT-FMR linewidth was found to be almost independent of the DC current value, suggesting that the SOT has a minimal influence in the hard axis configuration and that thermal effects were insignificant. This study paves the way for spatially resolved measurements of SOT probed using localized modes of microscale devices that go beyond the spatially averaged capability of electrical measurement techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time-resolved scanning Kerr microscopy (TRSKM) has been used to image precessional magnetization dynamics excited by a DC current within a nano-contact (NC) spin Hall nano-oscillator (SHNO). Injection of a radio frequency (RF) current was used to phase lock the SHNO to TRSKM. The out of plane magnetization was detected by means of the polar magneto optical Kerr effect (MOKE). However, longitudinal MOKE images were dominated by an artifact arising from the edges of the Au NCs. Time resolved imaging revealed the simultaneous excitation of a non-linear "bullet" mode at the centre of the device, once the DC current exceeded a threshold value, and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) induced by the RF current. However, the FMR response observed for sub-critical DC current values exhibits an amplitude minimum at the centre, which is attributed to spreading of the RF spin current due to the reactance of the device structure. This FMR response can be subtracted to yield images of the bullet mode. As the DC current is increased above threshold, the bullet mode appears to increase in size, suggesting increased translational motion. The reduced spatial overlap of the bullet and FMR modes, and this putative translational motion, may impede the injection locking and contribute to the reduced locking range observed within NC-SHNO devices. This illustrates a more general need to control the geometry of an injection-locked oscillator so that the autonomous dynamics of the oscillator exhibit strong spatial overlap with those resulting from the injected signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and fabrication of a novel plasmonic cavity, intended to allow far-field recovery of signals arising from near field magneto-optical interactions, is presented. Finite element modeling is used to describe the interaction between a gold film, containing cross-shaped cavities, with a nearby magnetic under-layer. The modeling revealed strong electric field confinement near the center of the cross structure for certain optical wavelengths, which may be tuned by varying the length of the cross through a range that is compatible with available fabrication techniques. Furthermore, the magneto optical Kerr effect (MOKE) response of the composite structure can be enhanced with respect to that of the bare magnetic film. To confirm these findings, cavities were milled within gold films deposited upon a soluble film, allowing relocation to a ferromagnetic film using a float transfer technique. Cross cavity arrays were fabricated and characterized by optical transmission spectroscopy prior to floating, revealing resonances at optical wavelengths in good agreement with the finite element modeling. Following transfer to the magnetic film, circular test apertures within the gold film yielded clear magneto-optical signals even for diameters within the sub-wavelength regime. However, no magneto-optical signal was observed for the cross cavity arrays, since the FIB milling process was found to produce nanotube structures within the soluble under-layer that adhered to the gold. Further optimization of the fabrication process should allow recovery of magneto-optical signal from cross cavity structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four different designs of partially built hard disk write heads with a yoke comprising four repeats of NiFe (1 nm)/CoFe (50 nm) were studied by both x-ray photoemission electron microscopy (XPEEM) and time-resolved scanning Kerr microscopy (TRSKM). These techniques were used to investigate the static equilibrium domain configuration and the magnetodynamic response across the entire structure, respectively. Simulations and previous TRSKM studies have made proposals for the equilibrium domain configuration of similar structures, but no direct observation of the equilibrium state of the writers has yet been made. In this study, static XPEEM images of the equilibrium state of writer structures were acquired using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism as the contrast mechanism. These images suggest that the crystalline anisotropy dominates the equilibrium state domain configuration, but competition with shape anisotropy ultimately determines the stability of the equilibrium state. Dynamic TRSKM images were acquired from nominally identical devices. These images suggest that a longer confluence region may hinder flux conduction from the yoke into the pole tip: the shorter confluence region exhibits clear flux beaming along the symmetry axis, whereas the longer confluence region causes flux to conduct along one edge of the writer. The observed variations in dynamic response agree well with the differences in the equilibrium magnetization configuration visible in the XPEEM images, confirming that minor variations in the geometric design of the writer structure can have significant effects on the process of flux beaming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]