Spin-transfer torques in antiferromagnetic metals from first principles

In spite of the absence of a macroscopic magnetic moment, an antiferromagnet is spin-polarized on an atomic scale. The electric current passing through a conducting antiferromagnet is polarized as well, leading to spin-transfer torques when the order parameter is textured, such as in antiferromagnetic noncollinear spin valves and domain walls. We report a first principles study on the electronic transport properties of antiferromagnetic systems. The current-induced spin torques acting on the magnetic moments are comparable with those in conventional ferromagnetic materials, leading to measurable angular resistances and current-induced magnetization dynamics. In contrast to ferromagnets, spin torques in antiferromagnets are very nonlocal. The torques acting far away from the center of an antiferromagnetic domain wall should facilitate current-induced domain wall motion.     

Influence of a transport current on a domain wall in an antiferromagnetic metal

We consider the influence of an electric current on the position of a domain wall in an antiferromagnetic metal. We first microscopically derive an equation of motion for the Néel vector in the presence of current by performing, in the transport steady state, a linear-response calculation in the deviation from collinearity of the antiferromagnet. This equation of motion is then solved variationally for an antiferromagnetic domain wall. We find that, in the absence of dissipative or non-adiabatic coupling between magnetization and current, the current displaces the domain wall by a finite amount and that the domain wall is then intrinsically pinned by the exchange interactions. In the presence of dissipative or non-adiabatic current-to-domain-wall coupling, the domain wall velocity is proportional to the current and is no longer pinned.     

Gyroscopic dynamics of antiferromagnetic vortices in the orthoferrite domain wall

The method of generation of antiferromagnetic vortices on the supersound domain wall in the orthoferrites was proposed. Moving antiferromagnetic vortices were accompanied by the solitary deflection waves. These waves were used for investigation of generation and nonlinear dynamics of the antiferromagnetic vortices on a moving domain wall with the help of two- and three-fold digital high-speed photography and Faraday rotation in the orthoferrites plates cut perpendicular to the optical axis. The full velocity of antiferromagnetic vortex nonlinearly increases and saturates on the spin velocity level c. The vortices with smallest topological charges saturate earlier than with big one. The vortices velocity along the domain wall u increases up to the maximum and goes to the dependence u²+v²=c². Vortex dynamics is quasirelativistic on quasirelativistic domain wall. The theory of gyroscopic force in the domain wall of orthoferrites was elaborated by Zvezdin et al. and was confirmed our earlier experimental results.     

Effect of roughness on the magnetic structure of ferro/antiferromagnetic interface

Spin structures at the ferro/antiferromagnetic interfaces perturbed by defects such as atomic high steps are analytically investigated. A two-dimensional model is proposed to describe the spin distribution formed on the interfacial step at the domain wall. A criterion of the domain wall configuration relative to the interface is found, defined by the magnetic and geometrical characteristics of the interface and the magnet.     

Spin torque on magnetic domain walls exerted by supercurrents

We calculate the spin density, spin currents and spin torque due to a spin polarized current on a magnetic domain wall juxtaposed to or inserted in a conventional superconductor. The superconductor is part of a heterostructure of the type NSN or FSF. In general, the spin torque exerted on the domain wall is weaker with respect to a normal metal. However, there are regimes where the torque is enhanced with respect to the normal metal. In these regimes the motion of the domain wall is therefore more efficient. A notable case is the passing of an unpolarized current which leads to a finite torque in the case of the superconductor.     

Unidirectional anisotropy in a ferromagnet-antiferromagnet system

The unidirectional anisotropy arising in a ferromagnetic film on an antiferromagnetic substrate due to the proximity effect is investigated. Consideration is given to the smooth and rough film-substrate interfaces. The conditions of the formation of a domain wall in the film and the passage of the wall into the substrate in the course of magnetization reversal are determined. The parameters of the static spin vortices formed in the vicinity of the rough interface are studied as functions of the magnetic field strength.     

Step-induced frustration of antiferromagnetic order in Mn on Fe(001)

We studied the spin arrangement in ultrathin antiferromagnetic Mn films in contact with a ferromagnetic Fe(001) substrate using spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy. Mn shows a layerwise antiferromagnetic order on Fe(001). In regions where Mn overgrows Fe steps, a frustration of the antiferromagnetic order occurs which is similar to a 180 degrees domain wall. This topologically enforced frustration was studied as a function of Mn thickness. A linear increase of the width of the frustration region with the Mn thickness was found.     

Creation of an antiferromagnetic exchange spring

We present evidence for the creation of an exchange spring in an antiferromagnet due to exchange coupling to a ferromagnet. X-ray magnetic linear dichroism spectroscopy on single crystal Co/NiO(001) shows that a partial domain wall is wound up at the surface of the antiferromagnet when the adjacent ferromagnet is rotated by a magnetic field. We determine the interface exchange stiffness and the antiferromagnetic domain wall energy from the field dependence of the direction of the antiferromagnetic axis, the antiferromagnetic pendant to a ferromagnetic hysteresis loop. The existence of a planar antiferromagnetic domain wall, proven by our measurement, is a key assumption of most exchange bias models.     

Spin twists, domain walls, and the cluster spin-glass phase of weakly doped cuprates

We examine the role of spin twists in the formation of domain walls, often called stripes, by focusing on the spin textures found in the cluster spin glass phases of and . To this end, we derive improved analytic expressions for the spin distortions produced by a frustrating bond, both near the core region of the bond and in the far field, and then derive an improved expression for interaction energies between such bonds. We critique our analytical theory by comparison to numerical solutions of this problem and find excellent agreement. By looking at collections of small numbers of such bonds localized in some region of a lattice, we demonstrate the stability of small “clusters” of spins, each cluster having its own orientation of its antiferromagnetic order parameter. Then, we display a domain wall corresponding to spin twists between clusters of locally ordered spins showing how spin twists can serve as a mechanism for stripe formation. Since the charges are localized in this model, we emphasize that these domain walls are produced in a situation for which no kinetic energy is present in the problem. Received 10 January 2000     

Current driven domain wall velocities exceeding the spin angular momentum transfer rate in permalloy nanowires

The velocity of domain walls driven by current in zero magnetic field is measured in permalloy nanowires using real-time resistance measurements. The domain wall velocity increases with increasing current density, reaching a maximum velocity of approximately 110 m/s when the current density in the nanowire reaches approximately 1.5 x 10(8) A/cm(2). Such high current driven domain wall velocities exceed the estimated rate at which spin angular momentum is transferred to the domain wall from the flow of spin polarized conduction electrons, suggesting that other driving mechanisms, such as linear momentum transfer, need to be taken into account.     

Charge current driven by spin dynamics in disordered Rashba spin-orbit system

Pumping of charge current by spin dynamics in the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction is theoretically studied. Considering a disordered electron, the exchange coupling and spin-orbit interactions are treated perturbatively. It is found that the dominant current induced by spin dynamics is interpreted as a consequence of the conversion from spin current via the inverse spin Hall effect. We also find that the current has an additional component from a fictitious conservative field. The results are applied to the case of a moving domain wall.     

Model of hybrid interfacial domain wall in ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic bilayers

A general model of a hybrid interfacial domain wall(HIDW) in ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic exchange biased bilayers is proposed, where an interfacial domain wall is allowed to extend into either the ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic layer or across both. The proposition is based on our theoretical investigation on thickness and field dependences of ferromagnetic domain wall(FMDW) and antiferromagnetic domain wall(AFDW), respectively. Good match of the simulation to the hysteresis loops of a series of Ni Fe/Fe Mn exchange-biased bilayers confirms the existence of the HIDW, where the AFDW part is found to preferentially occupy the entire antiferromagnetic layer while the FMDW shrinks with the increased magnetic field as expected. The observed asymmetry between the ascending and descending branches of the hysteresis loop is explained naturally as a consequence of different partition ratios between AFDW and FMDW.     

Domain wall motion by the magnonic spin Seebeck effect

The recently discovered spin Seebeck effect refers to a spin current induced by a temperature gradient in a ferromagnetic material. It combines spin degrees of freedom with caloric properties, opening the door for the invention of new, spin caloritronic devices. Using spin model simulations as well as an innovative, multiscale micromagnetic framework we show that magnonic spin currents caused by temperature gradients lead to spin transfer torque effects, which can drag a domain wall in a ferromagnetic nanostructure towards the hotter part of the wire. This effect opens new perspectives for the control and manipulation of domain structures.     

Current induced domain wall motion in GaMnAs close to the Curie temperature

Domain wall dynamics produced by spin transfer torques is investigated in (Ga, Mn)As ferromagnetic semiconducting tracks with perpendicular anisotropy, close to the Curie temperature. The domain wall velocities are found to follow a linear flow regime which only slightly varies with temperature. Using the D?ring inequality, boundaries of the spin polarization of the current are deduced. A comparison with the predictions of the mean field k·p theory leads to an estimation of the carrier density whose value is compatible with results published in the literature. The spin polarization of the current and the magnetization of the magnetic atoms present similar temperature variations. This leads to a weak temperature dependence of the spin drift velocity and thus of the domain wall velocity. A combined study of field- and current-driven motion and deformation of magnetic domains reveals a motion of domain walls in the steady state regime without transition to the precessional regime. The ratio between the non-adiabatic torque β and the Gilbert damping factor α is shown to remain close to unity.     

Effect of spin current on uniform ferromagnetism: domain nucleation

A large spin current applied to a uniform ferromagnet leads to a spin-wave instability as pointed out recently. In this Letter, it is shown that such spin-wave instability is absent in a state containing a domain wall, which indicates that nucleation of magnetic domains occurs above a certain critical spin current. This scenario is supported also by an explicit energy comparison of the two states under spin current.     

Temperature dependence of the spin torque effect in current-induced domain wall motion

We present an experimental study of domain wall motion induced by current pulses as well as by conventional magnetic fields at temperatures between 2 and 300 K in a 110 nm wide and 34 nm thick Ni80Fe20 ring. We observe that, in contrast with field-induced domain wall motion, which is a thermally activated process, the critical current density for current-induced domain wall motion increases with increasing temperature, which implies a reduction of the spin torque efficiency. The effect of Joule heating due to the current pulses is measured and taken into account to obtain critical fields and current densities at constant sample temperatures. This allows for a comparison of our results with theory.     

Influence of current on field-driven domain wall motion in permalloy nanowires from time resolved measurements of anisotropic magnetoresistance

The motion of magnetic domain walls in permalloy nanowires is investigated by real-time resistance measurements. The domain wall velocity is measured as a function of the magnetic field in the presence of a current flowing through the nanowire. We show that the current can significantly increase or decrease the domain wall velocity, depending on its direction. These results are understood within a one-dimensional model of the domain wall dynamics which includes the spin transfer torque.     

Field-induced reentrant novel phase and a ferroelectric-magnetic order coupling in HoMnO3

A reentrant novel phase is observed in the hexagonal ferroelectric HoMnO3 in the presence of magnetic fields in the temperature range defined by a plateau of the dielectric constant anomaly. The plateau evolves with fields from a narrow dielectric peak at the Mn-spin rotation transition at 32.8 K in zero field. The anomaly appears both as a function of temperature and as a function of magnetic field without detectable hysteresis. This is attributed to the indirect coupling between the ferroelectric (FE) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) orders, arising from an FE-AFM domain wall effect.     

Solitary deflection waves on the supersonic domain wall in yttrium orthoferrite

The moving antiferromagnetic vortices are accompanied by solitary deflection waves. These waves allow to investigate generation and nonlinear dynamics of the antiferromagnetic vortices on the moving domain wall with the help of the two- and three-fold digital high speed photography. On the quasi-relativistic domain wall the vortex dynamics is quasi-relativistic with the limiting velocity c=20 km/s, which is equal to the spin-wave velocity. The solitary deflection waves dynamics can be explained assuming existence of the gyroscopic force. A theory for the gyroscopic force in the orthoferrite domain wall is elaborating by A.K. Zvezdin et al. currently. We present a comparison of the theoretical and experimental results on the dynamics of the solitary deflection waves, which accompany the antiferromagnetic vortices in the domain wall of orthoferrites.     

Pressure exerted on a domain wall by a current in a spin valve: Stoner ferromagnet model

The influence of an electric current flowing through a spin-valve perpendicular to its layers on a domain wall located in the free layer of the spin valve is studied. It is demonstrated that the nonequilibrium spin distribution generated by the current gives rise to a pressure exerted on the domain wall. This pressure is proportional to the current squared, and, for typical values of the magnetic parameters and a current density of 10⁷–10⁸ A/cm², its effect is similar to that of a magnetic field of several oersteds to several tens of oersteds. The magnitude and sign of the pressure are strongly dependent on the geometric and physical parameters of the device. The problem is solved using the model of itinerant-electron ferromagnetism. The relation of the discovered effect to experimental data on magnetization reversal induced by a spin-polarized current in such structures is discussed.