Possible Evidence for Spin-Transfer Torque Induced by Spin-Triplet Supercurrents

The mutual interplay between superconductivity and magnetism in superconductor/ferromagnet heterostructures may give rise to unusual proximity effects beyond current knowledge. Especially, spin-triplet Cooper pairs could be created at carefully engineered superconductor/ferromagnet interfaces. Here we report a giant proximity effect on spin dynamics in superconductor/ferromagnet/superconductor Josephson junctions. Below the superconducting transition temperature T_C, the ferromagnetic resonance field at X-band(~9.0 GHz) shifts rapidly to a lower field with decreasing temperature. In strong contrast, this phenomenon is absent in ferromagnet/superconductor bilayers and superconductor/insulator/ferromagnet/superconductor multilayers. Such an intriguing phenomenon can not be interpreted by the conventional Meissner effect. Instead, we propose that the strong influence on spin dynamics could be due to spin-transfer torque associated with spin-triplet supercurrents in ferromagnetic Josephson junctions with precessing magnetization.     

The origin of noncollinear anisotropies and asymmetric magnetization reversal in FM/AFM bilayer system

The effects of the magnitude of the uniaxial anisotropy of a ferromagnet and the cooling field on the noncollinearity between uniaxial anisotropy and induced unidirectional anisotropy in a ferromagnet/antiferromagnet bilayer system are investigated. A diagram of noncollinear anisotropies and relative negative (positive) exchange bias field dependence upon cooling field and uniaxial anisotropy of the ferromagnet is obtained. The numerical result shows that the emergence of noncollinear anisotropies originates from the action of the cooling field and uniaxial anisotropy of the ferromagnet. The noncollinearity strongly depends on the magnitude of cooling field and uniaxial anisotropy of the ferromagnet. Moreover, the effect of noncollinear anisotropies and applied field on asymmetric magnetization reversal is also investigated. Amazingly, when the magnetic field is applied collinearly with unidirectional anisotropy, the hysteresis loop of ferromagnet/antiferromagnet bilayers is always symmetric even if there are noncollinear anisotropies. Our results indicate that the asymmetry of the hysteresis loop only originates from the noncollinearity between the induced unidirectional anisotropy and the applied field, rather than from the noncollinearity between the uniaxial and unidirectional anisotropies.     

Asymmetric magnetization reversal behavior and noncollinear anisotropies in exchange-bias system

The effect of noncollinearity between unidirectional and uniaxial anisotropies on asymmetric magnetization reversal of ferromagnet/antiferromagnet (FM/AFM) bilayer has been investigated. The results show the emergence of noncollinear anisotropies comes from the competition among applied magnetic field, magnetic anisotropy and exchange coupling in FM/AFM interface. The noncollinearity can lead to the asymmetry of hysteresis loop of FM/AFM bilayer. However, when the magnetic field is applied along the uniaxial anisotropy axis of FM layer, the hysteresis loop of FM/AFM bilayer is always symmetry independence of the noncollinear angle. Our results indicate that the asymmetry not only originates from the noncollinearity but also depends on the applied magnetic field orientation. Moreover, the asymmetry of hysteresis loop is always along with the appearance of unequivalence for magnetization reversal of FM/AFM bilayer, and there is a periodicity of π with orientation of applied field for its periodicity independence of the angle of the noncollinearity between the uniaxial and unidirectional anisotropies. The results can help us to open additional avenues to tailor the future advance magnetic device.     

Dipolar interactions in ferromagnetic thin films

We introduce a discrete model describing the motion of a zigzag domain wall in a disordered ferromagnet with in-plane magnetization, driven by an external magnetic field. The main ingredients are dipolar interactions and anisotropy. We investigate the dynamic hysteresis by analyzing the effects of external field frequency on the coercive field by Monte Carlo simulations. Our results are in good agreement with experiments on Fe/GaAs films reported in literature, and we conclude that dynamic hysteresis in this case can be explained by a single propagating domain wall model without invoking domain nucleation.     

外场作用下铁电/铁磁双层膜的极化磁化性质

建立了铁电/铁磁双层膜模型,铁电层的电矩用连续标量描述,而铁磁层的自旋应用经典矢量描述.利用蒙特卡罗方法模拟了体系的热力学性质和极化、磁化行为.给出了零场下体系的内能、比热、极化和磁化随温度变化的关系,并分别研究了体系在外磁场和外电场下的极化和磁化行为.模拟结果表明,双层膜体系的内能、比热、极化和磁化性质因层间耦合系数的不同而明显不同,当界面耦合较弱时,双层膜表现出各自的热力学性质,当层间耦合增强到一定程度时,双层膜耦合为一个整体,表现出统一的热力学性质.该双层膜在外场中形成电滞回线和磁滞回线,并表现出偏置特性,界面耦合强度和温度影响滞后回线和偏置现象.     

Unified nonequilibrium dynamical theory for exchange bias and training effects

We have investigated the exchange bias and training effect in the ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic (FM/AF) heterostructures using a unified Monte Carlo dynamical approach. The magnetization of the uncompensated AF layer is still open after the first field cycling is finished. Our simulated results show obvious shift of hysteresis loops (exchange bias) and cycling dependence of exchange bias (training effect) when the temperature is below 45~K. The exchange bias field decreases with decreasing cooling rate or increasing temperature and the number of the field cycling. Essentially, these two effects can be explained on the basis of the microscopical coexistence of both reversible and irreversible moment reversals of the AF domains. Our simulations are useful to understand the real magnetization dynamics of such magnetic heterostructures.     

Asymmetric kinetics of magnetization reversal of thin exchange-coupled ferromagnetic films

This paper reports on the results of the investigation of the kinetics of magnetization reversal in FeNi-FeMn ferromagnet-antiferromagnet thin hybrid films grown by magnetron sputtering on silicon substrates in the presence of in-plane magnetic field, which provided unidirectional in-plane magnetic anisotropy in the ferromagnetic layer and a single-domain structure of the ferromagnet in the absence of an external magnetic field. The constructed hysteresis loops and magnetization loci have made it possible to reveal the specific features of the magnetization reversal process of an exchange-coupled ferromagnet, to establish new types of asymmetry, and to obtain new proofs for the existence of a spin spring at the ferromagnet-antiferromagnet interface. The visualization of the magnetization reversal process has allowed one to establish a one-to-one correspondence between the macrocharacteristics of the material and the real processes occurring in ferromagnet-antiferromagnet hybrid structures.     

The permeability and remanent magnetization of a randomly inhomogeneous two-phase medium

A randomly inhomogeneous composite consisting of two, ferromagnetic and nonmagnetic (para-or diamagnetic), phases is considered. The dependence of the effective permeability of the composite on the concentration of the ferromagnetic phase and on the applied magnetic field is found for the case of the negligible hysteresis loop. When the hysteresis loop is appreciable, the remanent magnetization as a function of the ferromagnet concentration is calculated.     

Magnetic properties of the noncollinear phase of a FeBO<Subscript>3</Subscript>:Mg single crystal

The magneto-optical method is used to investigate magnetization and low-frequency magnetic susceptibility curves of the FeBO₃ single crystal doped with diamagnetic Mg ions. It is demonstrated that substitution of a fraction of Fe ions by the Mg ions in the structure of this easy-plane weak ferromagnet causes a significant intraplane magnetocrystalline anisotropy at low temperatures as well as different forms of magnetic hysteresis loops and field dependences of the magnetic susceptibility recorded for different orientations of the external magnetic field relative to the basal crystal plane. The established special features of the FeBO₃:Mg magnetic properties are explained by the transition of the magnetic crystal from the uniform to spatially modulated state during technical magnetization.     

Exchange bias with Fe substitution in LaMnO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

We observe the negative shift of the magnetic hysteresis loop at 5 K, while the sample is cooled in external magnetic field in case of 30% of Fe substitution in LaMnO₃. The negative shift and training effect of the hysteresis loops indicate the phenomenon of exchange bias. The cooling field dependence of the negative shift increases with the cooling field below 7.0 kOe and then, decreases with further increase of cooling field. The temperature dependence of the negative shift of the hysteresis loops exhibits that the negative shift decreases sharply with increasing temperature and vanishes above 20 K. Temperature dependence of dc magnetization and ac susceptibility measurements show a sharp peak (T_p) at 51 K and a shoulder (T_f) around 20 K. The relaxation of magnetization shows the ferromagnetic and glassy magnetic components in the relaxation process, which is in consistent with the cluster-glass compound.     

Zero—field—cooled and field—cooled magnetizations and magnetic susceptibility of itinerant ferromagnet SrRuO3

Zero-field-cooled(ZFC) magnetization,field-cooled(FC) magnetization,ac magnetic susceptibility and major hysteresis loops of itinerant ferromagnet SrRuO3 have been measured at magnetic ordering temperatures ranging from 5 to 160K.An empirical model is proposed to calculate the measured ZFC magnetization.The result indicates that the calculated ZFC magnetization compares well with the measured one.Based on the generalized Preisach model.both the ZFC and FC curves are reproduced by numerical simulations.The critical temperature and critical exponents are determined by measuring the ac magnetic susceptibility in different bias magnetic fields at temperatures in the vicinity of the point of phase transition.     

The de Haas-van Alphen effect in quasi-two-dimensional materials

We calculate the amplitude of magnetization oscillations for a quasi-two-dimensional electron system. In the two-dimensional case the behavior of this amplitude as a function of magnetic field and temperature differ completely from the conventional Lifshitz-Kosevich formula valid for three-dimensional metals. Previously only the ideal two-dimensional case has been considered, and the difference of the shape of the Fermi surface from cylindrical has not been taken into account. We obtain the general formula for the envelope of magnetization oscillations as a function of magnetic field, temperature, and the strength of the warping of the Fermi surface. This problem is important because of the great amount of interest in heterostructures and quasi-two-dimensional organic metals which has arisen in recent years. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 69, No. 2, 139–144 (25 January 1999) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Analytic expression for the magnetization curve and hysteresis loop

In a real ferromagnet there are a large number of domains differing greatly in energy, so that a domain energy distribution can be introduced. The nonvanishing initial permeability and saturation on the magnetization curve allow an analytic expression to be found for this function and thus for the magnetization curve. Taking the domain interaction into account by introducing a starting field allows the B(H) dependence found to be generalized to weak fields. Analysis of ideal magnetization curves shows that the superposition on a constant field of varying fields having nonvanishing amplitudes reduces the starting field to zero, i.e., removes the magnetic interaction. The B, H plane can be thought of as a complex plane, each point of which is associated with some state of the ferromagnet. A transformation is made from the magnetization curve to the remagnetization curve by a linear transformation of this complex point. In this manner, a transformation can be made from the B(H) dependence found for weak fields to an analytic expression for the hysteresis loop in the same field range.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii Fizika, No. 11, pp. 59–62, November, 1970.     

Voltage generation by ferromagnetic resonance at a nonmagnet to ferromagnet contact

A ferromagnet can resonantly absorb rf radiation to sustain a steady precession of the magnetization around an internal or applied magnetic field. We show that, under these ferromagnetic resonance conditions, a dc voltage is generated at a normal-metal electric contact to a ferromagnet with spin-flip scattering. The spin dynamics in the nonmagnetic region is accounted for by a frequency-dependent renormalization of the interface conductances. This mechanism allows sensing of time-dependent magnetizations by established dc electronic techniques.     

Optical detection in a ferromagnet

The detection of plane-polarized amplitude-modulated infrared laser radiation in a transparent yttrium-iron garnet ferromagnet at room temperature is performed experimentally. The nonlinear interaction mechanism is suggested. It is found that the magnitude and sign of the detected signal depend significantly on the magnetizing external magnetic field. The signal is observed when the magnetization of the ferromagnet approaches the saturated value. The measured dependence of the amplitude of the detected signal on the angle of polarization of the laser radiation with respect to the magnetization of the ferromagnetic sample supports the suggested nonlinearity mechanism. The largest nonlinearity appears when the magnetic field of the plane-polarized laser radiation is parallel to the magnetic moment of the magnetized ferromagnet.     

Spontaneous supercurrent induced by ferromagnetic pi junctions

We present magnetization measurements of mesoscopic superconducting niobium loops containing a ferromagnetic (PdNi) pi junction. The loops are prepared on top of the active area of a micro-Hall sensor based on high mobility GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures. We observe asymmetric switching of the loop between different magnetization states when reversing the sweep direction of the magnetic field. This provides evidence for a spontaneous current induced by the intrinsic phase shift of the pi junction. In addition, the presence of the spontaneous current near zero applied field is directly revealed by an increase of the magnetic moment with decreasing temperature, which results in half integer flux quantization in the loop at low temperatures.     

Dynamical properties of magnetization reversal in an ultrathin AuCo film

We present a dynamical study of hysteresis loops of a MoS₂/[Au/Co/Au] sandwich performed by surface magneto-optical Kerr effect with a field variation rate up to 1.2 MOe/s. An interpretation of dynamical effects at room temperature is proposed, using a modelization of the magnetization reversal. We discuss simulations which describe two different processes of the magnetization reversal to interpret the evolution of the hysteresis loops for several rates of variation of the magnetic field. For a first range of field variation rates lower than 180 kOe/s, the predominant mechanism seems to be wall motion and beyond 180 kOe/s, an expression for the magnetization is given, which supposes micro-domains reversal as a prevailing process. Finally, the general behaviour of the relaxation time, depending on the magnetic field, is investigated.     

Exchange bias in bulk layered hydroxylammonium fluorocobaltate (NH?OH)?CoF?

The magnetic properties of layered hydroxylammonium fluorocobaltate (NH(3)OH)(2)CoF(4) were investigated by measuring its dc magnetic susceptibility in zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled (FC) regimes, its frequency dependent ac susceptibility, its isothermal magnetization curves after ZFC and FC regimes, and its heat capacity. Effects of pressure and magnetic field on magnetic phase transitions were studied by susceptibility and heat capacity measurements, respectively. The system undergoes a magnetic phase transition from a paramagnetic state to a canted antiferromagnetic state exhibiting a weak ferromagnetic behavior at T(C) = 46.5 K and an antiferromagnetic transition at T(N) = 2.9 K. The most spectacular manifestation of the complex magnetic behavior in this system is a shift of the isothermal magnetization hysteresis loop in a temperature range below 20 K after the FC regime-an exchange bias phenomenon. We investigated the exchange bias as a function of the magnetic field during cooling and as a function of temperature. The observed exchange bias was attributed to the large exchange anisotropy which exists due to the quasi-2D structure of the layered (NH(3)OH)(2)CoF(4) material.     

The magnetic barkhausen effect

When the magnetization of a ferromagnet (in this paper “ferromagnet” will often include “fernmagnet”) is changed under the influence of an applied magnetic field, the magnetization, particularly in the vicinity of the coercive force, is not smooth function of the field but rather shows a structure composed of many individual steps. This structure is evidence of irreversible changes in magnetization and is known as the barkhausen effect. The effect was named after its discoverer who, in 1919, connected a coil surrounding a ferromagnet to a newly invented amplifier and listened to the output of the amplifier with earphones.¹     

Observation of a new magnetic anomaly below the ferromagnetic Curie temperature in Yb14MnSb11

Yb14MnSb11 is an unusual ferromagnet with a Curie temperature of 52 +/- 1 K. Recent optical, Hall, magnetic, and thermodynamic measurements indicate that Yb14MnSb11 may be a rare example of an underscreened Kondo lattice. We report the first experimental observation of a new magnetic anomaly in this system at around 47 K, a few degrees below T(c). Systematic investigations of the ac and dc susceptibilities of Yb14MnSb11 single crystals reveal features associated with possible spin reorientation at this temperature. This new anomaly is extremely sensitive to the applied measurement field and is absent in temperature-dependent dc magnetization data for fields above 50 Oe. The origin of this could be due to decoupling of two distinct magnetic sublattices associated with MnSb4 tetrahedra.