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We discuss the coherence of magnetic oscillations in a magnetic tunnel junction based spin torque oscillator as a function of the external field angle. Time-frequency analysis shows mode hopping between distinct oscillator modes, which arises from linear and nonlinear couplings in the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation, analogous to mode hopping observed in semiconductor ring lasers. These couplings and, therefore, mode hopping are minimized near the current threshold for the antiparallel alignment of free-layer with reference layer magnetization. Away from the antiparallel alignment, mode hopping limits oscillator coherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the influence of the phase of localized plasmon resonances on the magneto-optical activity of nanoferromagnets. We demonstrate that these systems can be described as two orthogonal damped oscillators coupled by the spin-orbit interaction. We prove that only the spin-orbit induced transverse plasmon plays an active role on the magneto-optical properties by controlling the relative amplitude and phase lag between the two oscillators. Our theoretical predictions are fully confirmed by magneto-optical Kerr effect and optical extinction measurements in nanostructures of different size and shape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic dissipative droplets are localized, strongly nonlinear dynamical modes excited in nanocontact spin valves with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. These modes find potential application in nanoscale structures for magnetic storage and computation, but dissipative droplet studies have so far been limited to extended thin films. Here, numerical and asymptotic analyses are used to demonstrate the existence and properties of novel solitons in confined structures. As a nanowire's width is decreased with a nanocontact of fixed size at its center, the observed modes undergo transitions from a fully localized two-dimensional droplet into a two-dimensional droplet edge mode and then a pulsating one-dimensional droplet. These solitons are interpreted as dissipative versions of classical, conservative solitons, allowing for an analytical description of the modes and the mechanisms of bifurcation. The presented results open up new possibilities for the study of low-dimensional solitons and droplet applications in nanostructures.

Through detailed experimental studies of the angular dependence of spin wave excitations in nanocontact-based spin-torque oscillators, we demonstrate that two distinct spin wave modes can be excited, with different frequency, threshold currents, and frequency tunability. Using analytical theory and micromagnetic simulations we identify one mode as an exchange-dominated propagating spin wave, and the other as a self-localized nonlinear spin wave bullet. Wavelet-based analysis of the simulations indicates that the apparent simultaneous excitation of both modes results from rapid mode hopping induced by the Oersted field.

Precisely engineered tunnel junctions exhibit a long sought effect that occurs when the energy of the electron is comparable to the potential energy of the tunneling barrier. The resistance of metal-insulator-metal tunnel junctions oscillates with an applied voltage when electrons that tunnel directly into the barrier's conduction band interfere upon reflection at the classical turning points: the insulator-metal interface and the dynamic point where the incident electron energy equals the potential barrier inside the insulator. A model of tunneling between free electron bands using the exact solution of the Schrödinger equation for a trapezoidal tunnel barrier qualitatively agrees with experiment.