A compact apparatus for studies of element and phase-resolved ferromagnetic resonance

Microscopic evaluation of spin and orbital moment in ferromagnetic resonance

Time-resolved X-ray magnetic circular dichroism under the effects of ferromagnetic resonance (FMR), known as X-ray ferromagnetic resonance (XFMR) measurements, enables direct detection of precession dynamics of magnetic moment. Here we demonstrated XFMR measurements and Bayesian analyses as a quantitative probe for the precession of spin and orbital magnetic moments under the FMR effect. Magnetization precessions in two different Pt/Ni-Fe thin film samples were directly detected. Furthermore, the ratio of dynamical spin and orbital magnetic moments was evaluated quantitatively by Bayesian analyses for XFMR energy spectra around the Ni L 2 , 3 absorption edges. Our study paves the way for a microscopic investigation of the contribution of the orbital magnetic moment to magnetization dynamics.

Spin pumping through nanocrystalline topological insulators

The topological surface states (TSSs) in topological insulators (TIs) offer exciting prospects for dissipationless spin transport. Common spin-based devices, such as spin valves, rely on trilayer structures in which a non-magnetic layer is sandwiched between two ferromagnetic (FM) layers. The major disadvantage of using high-quality single-crystalline TI films in this context is that a single pair of spin-momentum locked channels spans across the entire film, meaning that only a very small spin current can be pumped from one FM to the other, along the side walls of the film. On the other hand, using nanocrystalline TI films, in which the grains are large enough to avoid hybridization of the TSSs, will effectively increase the number of spin channels available for spin pumping. Here, we used an element-selective, x-ray based ferromagnetic resonance technique to demonstrate spin pumping from a FM layer at resonance through the TI layer and into the FM spin sink.

Mode-Resolved Detection of Magnetization Dynamics Using X-ray Diffractive Ferromagnetic Resonance

Collective spin excitations of ordered magnetic structures offer great potential for the development of novel spintronic devices. The present approach relies on micromagnetic models to explain the origins of dynamic modes observed by ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) studies, since experimental tools to directly reveal the origins of the complex dynamic behavior are lacking. Here we demonstrate a new approach which combines resonant magnetic X-ray diffraction with FMR, thereby allowing for a reconstruction of the real-space spin dynamics of the system. This new diffractive FMR technique builds on X-ray detected FMR that allows for element-selective dynamic studies, giving unique access to specific wave components of static and dynamic coupling in magnetic heterostructures. In combination with diffraction, FMR is elevated to the level of a modal spectroscopy technique, potentially opening new pathways for the development of spintronic devices.

X-ray imaging of spin currents and magnetisation dynamics at the nanoscale

Understanding how spins move in time and space is the aim of both fundamental and applied research in modern magnetism. Over the past three decades, research in this field has led to technological advances that have had a major impact on our society, while improving the understanding of the fundamentals of spin physics. However, important questions still remain unanswered, because it is experimentally challenging to directly observe spins and their motion with a combined high spatial and temporal resolution. In this article, we present an overview of the recent advances in x-ray microscopy that allow researchers to directly watch spins move in time and space at the microscopically relevant scales. We discuss scanning x-ray transmission microscopy (STXM) at resonant soft x-ray edges, which is available at most modern synchrotron light sources. This technique measures magnetic contrast through the x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) effect at the resonant absorption edges, while focusing the x-ray radiation at the nanometre scale, and using the intrinsic pulsed structure of synchrotron-generated x-rays to create time-resolved images of magnetism at the nanoscale. In particular, we discuss how the presence of spin currents can be detected by imaging spin accumulation, and how the magnetisation dynamics in thin ferromagnetic films can be directly imaged. We discuss how a direct look at the phenomena allows for a deeper understanding of the the physics at play, that is not accessible to other, more indirect techniques. Finally, we present an overview of the exciting opportunities that lie ahead to further understand the fundamentals of novel spin physics, opportunities offered by the appearance of diffraction limited storage rings and free electron lasers.

Microwave soft x-ray microscopy for nanoscale magnetization dynamics in the 5-10 GHz frequency range

We present a scanning transmission x-ray microscopy setup combined with a novel microwave synchronization scheme for studying high frequency magnetization dynamics at synchrotron light sources. The sensitivity necessary to detect small changes in the magnetization on short time scales and nanometer spatial dimensions is achieved by combining the excitation mechanism with single photon counting electronics that is locked to the synchrotron operation frequency. Our instrument is capable of creating direct images of dynamical phenomena in the 5-10 GHz range, with high spatial resolution. When used together with circularly polarized x-rays, the above capabilities can be combined to study magnetic phenomena at microwave frequencies, such as ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) and spin waves. We demonstrate the capabilities of our technique by presenting phase resolved images of a ∼6 GHz nanoscale spin wave generated by a spin torque oscillator, as well as the uniform ferromagnetic precession with ∼0.1° amplitude at ∼9 GHz in a micrometer-sized cobalt strip.

A flux-coupled ac/dc magnetizing device

We report on an instrument for applying ac and dc magnetic fields by capturing the flux from a rotating permanent magnet and projecting it between two adjustable pole pieces. This can be an alternative to standard electromagnets for experiments with small samples or in probe stations in which an applied magnetic field is needed locally, with advantages that include a compact form-factor, very low power requirements and dissipation as well as fast field sweep rates. This flux capture instrument (FLUXCAP) can produce fields from -400 to +400 mT, with field resolution less than 1 mT. It generates static magnetic fields as well as ramped fields, with ramping rates as high as 10 T/s. We demonstrate the use of this apparatus for studying the magnetotransport properties of spin-valve nanopillars, a nanoscale device that exhibits giant magnetoresistance.

X-ray detected magnetic resonance: a unique probe of the precession dynamics of orbital magnetization components

X-ray Detected Magnetic Resonance (XDMR) is a novel spectroscopy in which X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism (XMCD) is used to probe the resonant precession of local magnetization components in a strong microwave pump field. We review the conceptual bases of XDMR and recast them in the general framework of the linear and nonlinear theories of ferromagnetic resonance (FMR). Emphasis is laid on the information content of XDMR spectra which offer a unique opportunity to disentangle the precession dynamics of spin and orbital magnetization components at given absorbing sites. For the sake of illustration, we focus on selected examples in which marked differences were found between FMR and XDMR spectra simultaneously recorded on ferrimagnetically ordered iron garnets. With pumping capabilities extended up to sub-THz frequencies, high-field XDMR should allow us to probe the precession of orbital magnetization components in paramagnetic organometallic complexes with large zero-field splitting. Even more challenging, we suggest that XDMR spectra might be recorded on selected antiferromagnetic crystals for which orbital magnetism is most often ignored in the absence of any supporting experimental evidence.

Adaption of a diffractometer for time-resolved X-ray resonant magnetic scattering

A new set-up is presented to measure element-selective magnetization dynamics using the ALICE chamber [Grabis et al. (2003), Rev. Sci. Instrum. 74, 4048-4051] at the BESSY II synchrotron at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. A magnetic-field pulse serves as excitation, and the magnetization precession is probed by element-selective X-ray resonant magnetic scattering. With the use of single-bunch-generated X-rays a temporal resolution well below 100 ps is reached. The ALICE diffractometer environment enables investigations of thin films, described here, multilayers and laterally structured samples in reflection or diffuse scattering geometry. The combination of the time-resolved set-up with a cryostat in the ALICE chamber will allow temperature-dependent studies of precessional magnetization dynamics and of damping constants to be conducted over a large temperature range and for a large variety of systems in reflection geometry.

Longitudinal detection of ferromagnetic resonance using x-ray transmission measurements

We describe a setup for the x-ray detection of ferromagnetic resonance in the longitudinal geometry using element-specific transmission measurements. Thin magnetic film samples are placed in a static magnetic field collinear with the propagation direction of a polarized soft x-ray beam and driven to ferromagnetic resonance by a continuous wave microwave magnetic field perpendicular to it. The transmitted photon flux is measured both as a function of the x-ray photon energy and as a function of the applied static magnetic field. We report experiments performed on a 15 nm film of doped Permalloy (Ni(73)Fe(18)Gd(7)Co(2)) at the L(3)/L(2)-edges of Fe, Co, and Ni. The achieved ferromagnetic resonance sensitivity is about 0.1 monolayers/square root(Hz). The obtained results are interpreted in the framework of a conductivity tensor based formalism. The factors limiting the sensitivity as well as different approaches for the x-ray detection of ferromagnetic resonance are discussed.