In the scope of this thesis spin transfer torque (STT) driven switching and resonances in point contact experiments are investigated. In the first part, the focus is on STT driven switching events in magnetic devices with different tilt of the magnetization with respect to the thin film sample plane. Varying tilt is reached by different magnetic multilayers as Co/Ni and Co/Pt and the e efficiency of STT is compared by measuring the magneto resistance (MR) traces. As expected it was observed that tilting the magnetization of one layer with respect to the other, can improve STT efficiency. This was confirmed by micromagentic simulations using OOMMF. In the second part of this thesis, STT driven resonances in an exchange-biased spin valve (EBSV) were investigated by applying ac (microwave) and dc currents while sweeping the applied magnetic field. The resulting magnetodynamics were observed by measuring the rectified voltage which appears across the sample. To characterize the sample first the well known and understood ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) was excited. After that the power of the applied ac current was increased and a second resonance at a smaller magnetic field could be observed. This resonance structure was investigated and shown to be due to parametric resonance. This non-linear excitation appears in oscillator systems, if one or both parameter (damping, eigen frequency) oscillate in time. In the STT driven resonance experiments, the accurrent causes the damping to oscillate and therefore drives the system into parametric resonance. / text

The topic of this Thesis is magnetization dynamics on atomic length scales. A computational scheme, Atomistic Spin Dynamics, based on density functional theory, the adiabatic approximation and the atomic moment approximation is presented. Simulations are performed for chemically disordered systems, antiferromagnets and ferrimagnets and also systems with reduced dimensionality The autocorrelation function of the archetypical spin glass alloy CuMn is sampled in simulations following a quenching protocol. The aging regime can be clearly identified and the dependence of the relaxation on the damping parameter is investigated. The time evolution of pair correlation and autocorrelation functions has been studied in simulations of the dilute magnetic semiconductor GaMnAs. The dynamics reveal a substantial short ranged magnetic order even at temperatures at or above the ordering temperature. The dynamics for different concentrations of As antisites are discussed. Antiferromagnets offer opportunities for ultrafast switching, this is studied in simulations of an artificial antiferromagnet. For the right conditions, the cooperative effect of applied field torque and and the torque from the other sublattice enables very fast switching. The dynamics of bcc Fe precessing in a strong uniaxial anisotropy are investigated. It is demonstrated that the magnetization can shrink substantially due to a spin wave instability. The dynamics of a two-component model ferrimagnet at finite temperature are investigated. At temperatures where the magnetic system is close to the magnetic and angular momentum compensations points of the ferrimagnet, the relaxation in a uniaxial easy exis anisotropy resembles results in recent experiments on ferrimagnetic resonance. The different cases of uniaxial or colossal magnetic anisotropy in nanowires at different temperatures are compared. The magnon softening in a ferromagnetic monolayer is investigated, giving results that compare well with recent experiments. The effect of lattice relaxation can be treated in first principles calculations. Subsequent simulations captures the softening of magnons caused by reduced dimensionality and temperature. / Felaktigt tryckt som Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 706

.La jonction magnétique à effet tunnel, noyau de la mémoire MRAM (magnetic random access memory), a suscité beaucoup d'intérêt pour les technologies de stockage et de traitement de l'information de faible puissance. Cette thèse se concentre sur l'influence de l'effet de bord pour les propriétés magnétiques des nanodispositifs. Deux nanostructures magnétiques typiques sont concernés: nanopiliers MTJ sous un processus spécial d'encapsulation, et nanodots magnétiques avec la même structure que la couche libre de pilier MTJ.Tout d'abord, nous développons le processus de fabrication complet pour nanopiliers MTJ et nanodots magnétiques, qui est compatible avec la technologie standard du CMOS.Ensuite, un nouveau dispositif memristive hétérogène composé de nanopiliers MTJ entourés de commutateurs résistifs en silicium est étudié par la mesure de transport et la caractérisation structurale. Son application potentielle en tant que dispositif de mémoire à logique avec fonction de cryptage de la mémoire est discutée.Enfin, les nanodots magnétiques avec anisotropie magnétique perpendiculaire (Perpendicular Magnetic Anistopy, PMA) est étudiés par le microscope Kerr. Un modèle physique de la pression de Laplace appliqué sur un mouvement de DW aux bords des nanodots est chargé d'expliquer le décalage inattendu de la distribution du champ de commutation (switching field distribution, SFD) pour des nanodots de tailles variées / Magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), the core of the magnetic random access memory (MRAM), have attracted intensive interest for low-power storage and information processing technologies. This thesis focuses on the discussion of the influence of edge effect for the magnetic proprieties of nanodevices. Two typical magnetic nanostructures are involved: MTJ nanopillar under a special encapsulation process, and magnetic nanodots with the same structure as the free layer of MTJ stack.First, we develop the full fabrication process for both MTJ nanopillar and magnetic nanodots, which is compatible with standard CMOS technology.Then, a novel heterogeneous memristive device composed of an MTJ nanopillars surrounded by resistive silicon switches is investigated by transport measurement and structural characterization. The potential application as a logic-in-memory device with memory encryption function is discussed.Finally, the magnetic nanodots with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) is investigated using Kerr microscope. A physical model of Laplace pressure applied on a DW motion at the edges of nanodots is responsible for explaining the unexpected shifting of switching field distribution (SFD) for nanodots with varied sizes.

<div>The response time of magnetization switching in current spintronic devices is limited to nanosecond timescales due to the precessional motion of the magnetization during reversal. To overcome this limit two routes of investigation leading to novel recording and logic devices are considered in this thesis: 1) Magnetic tunnel junction structures where the recording and reference layers are replaced by synthetic ferrimagnets and switching is induced by spin transfer torque and 2) Hybrid magneto-photonic devices where switching is induced by plasmon-enhanced all-optical switching. To circumvent limitations of the materials and magnetic properties of CoFeB, the most utilized alloy in spintronics, hcp-CoCrPt, a material that exhibits superior perpendicular anisotropy and thermal stability, is chosen as the ferromagnetic electrode in this work. Whereas actual devices based on the two schemes aforementioned are still in the process of being fabricated, through collaborative work with our international collaborators, this thesis describes fundamental magnetic and structural characterization needed for the realization of said ultrafast switching devices. The magnetic switching behavior of CoCrPt-Ru-CoCrPt synthetic ferrimagnets with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy have been studied in the temperature range from 2K to 300K. It was found that two sets of magnetic transitions occur in the CoCrPt-Ru-CoCrPt ferrimagnet systems studied. The first set exhibits three magnetization states in the 50K – 370K range, whereas the second involves only two states in the 2K and 50K range. The magnetic hysteresis curves of the synthetic ferrimagnet are assessed using an energy diagram technique which accurately describes the competition between interlayer exchange coupling energy, Zeeman energy, and anisotropy energy in the system. This energy diagram analysis is then used to predict the changes in the magnetic hysteresis curves of the synthetic ferrimagnet from 200K to 370K. This represents the potential operation temperature extrema that a synthetic ferrimagnet could be expected to operate at, were it to be utilized as a free layer in a memory or sensor spintronic device in the device configuration described in this dissertation.</div><div>Circularly polarized fs laser pulses generate large opto-magnetic fields in magnetic materials, through the inverse Faraday effect. These fields are attributed to be largely responsible for achieving ultrafast all-optical magnetization switching (AOS). All experimental demonstrations of AOS thus far have been realized on thin films over micron-sized irradiated regions. To achieve magnetization switching speeds in the ps and potentially fs time regimes, this work proposes the use of surface plasmon resonances at the interface of hybrid magneto-photonic heterostructures. In addition to the ability of plasmon resonances to confine light in the nm scale, the resonant excitation can largely enhance induced opto-magnetic fields in perpendicular magnetic anisotropy materials. This requires strong spin-photon coupling between the plasmonic and the magnetic materials, which thus requires the minimization of seed layers used for growth of the magnetic layer. This work reports on the development of ultrathin (1 nm thick) interlayers to control the growth orientation of hcp-Co alloys grown on the refractory plasmonic material, TiN, to align the magnetic axis out-of-plane. CoCrPtTa seed layers down to 1 nm were developed to seed the growth of CoCrPt, and the dependence of the quality of the CoCrPt is investigated as Ta composition is varied in the seed layer. Whereas bismuth iron garnet (BIG) meets the magneto-optical requirements for a hybrid magneto-photonic material, its magnetic and structural properties are highly sensitive to the Bi:Fe ratio and must be grown epitaxially on single crystalline substrates. Therefore, in this work we have investigated alternative materials that offer superior magnetic properties and are amenable to growth on inexpensive substrates. Opto-magnetic field enhancements up to 2.6x in Co-ferrite magneto-photonic heterostructures have been obtained via finite element analysis modelling. Alternative materials for plasmon-enhanced all-optical switching such as Co/Pd multilayers have also been investigated. Successful growth of Co/Pd multilayers on TiN using ultrathin Ti interlayers has been achieved. </div><div><br></div>