Comparison of Spin-Wave Modes in Connected and Disconnected Artificial Spin Ice Nanostructures Using Brillouin Light Scattering Spectroscopy

High-resolution imaging of 3D stray-field components with a Fe3O4 nanoparticle sensor

Despite rapid advances in magnetic domain imaging techniques, high-resolution imaging of 3D magnetic field components remains a great challenge. Magnetic force microscopy has been utilized to observe the 1D magnetic field component from the sample surface; however, the 1D stray-field component lacks sufficient conditions to clarify the nature of nanomagnetism. Herein, we propose a method for the detection of 3D stray-field components by using a Fe3O4-nanoparticle sensor. We employed this Fe3O4-nanoparticle sensor to detect nanoscale magnetic domains, domain walls, and magnetic vortices (resolution ∼5 nm), and our findings demonstrate its potential in imaging both out-of-plane and in-plane magnetic-field components. Our technique overcomes the limitations of 3D stray-field detection and high-resolution imaging and provides the possibility of observing both out-of-plane and in-plane magnetic field components with a 5 nm resolution, thereby paving the way for the development of future spin-based devices.

Nonlinear multi-magnon scattering in artificial spin ice

Magnons, the quantum-mechanical fundamental excitations of magnetic solids, are bosons whose number does not need to be conserved in scattering processes. Microwave-induced parametric magnon processes, often called Suhl instabilities, have been believed to occur in magnetic thin films only, where quasi-continuous magnon bands exist. Here, we reveal the existence of such nonlinear magnon-magnon scattering processes and their coherence in ensembles of magnetic nanostructures known as artificial spin ice. We find that these systems exhibit effective scattering processes akin to those observed in continuous magnetic thin films. We utilize a combined microwave and microfocused Brillouin light scattering measurement approach to investigate the evolution of their modes. Scattering events occur between resonance frequencies that are determined by each nanomagnet's mode volume and profile. Comparison with numerical simulations reveals that frequency doubling is enabled by exciting a subset of nanomagnets that, in turn, act as nanosized antennas, an effect that is akin to scattering in continuous films. Moreover, our results suggest that tunable directional scattering is possible in these structures.

Reconfigurable training and reservoir computing in an artificial spin-vortex ice via spin-wave fingerprinting

Strongly interacting artificial spin systems are moving beyond mimicking naturally occurring materials to emerge as versatile functional platforms, from reconfigurable magnonics to neuromorphic computing. Typically, artificial spin systems comprise nanomagnets with a single magnetization texture: collinear macrospins or chiral vortices. By tuning nanoarray dimensions we have achieved macrospin-vortex bistability and demonstrated a four-state metamaterial spin system, the 'artificial spin-vortex ice' (ASVI). ASVI can host Ising-like macrospins with strong ice-like vertex interactions and weakly coupled vortices with low stray dipolar field. Vortices and macrospins exhibit starkly differing spin-wave spectra with analogue mode amplitude control and mode frequency shifts of Δf = 3.8 GHz. The enhanced bitextural microstate space gives rise to emergent physical memory phenomena, with ratchet-like vortex injection and history-dependent non-linear fading memory when driven through global magnetic field cycles. We employed spin-wave microstate fingerprinting for rapid, scalable readout of vortex and macrospin populations, and leveraged this for spin-wave reservoir computation. ASVI performs non-linear mapping transformations of diverse input and target signals in addition to chaotic time-series forecasting.

Applications of nanomagnets as dynamical systems: II

In Part I of this topical review, we discussed dynamical phenomena in nanomagnets, focusing primarily on magnetization reversal with an eye to digital applications. In this part, we address mostly wave-like phenomena in nanomagnets, with emphasis on spin waves in myriad nanomagnetic systems and methods of controlling magnetization dynamics in nanomagnet arrays which may have analog applications. We conclude with a discussion of some interesting spintronic phenomena that undergird the rich physics exhibited by nanomagnet assemblies.