Transition metal and related compounds have been extensively studied over the past several decades. These investigations revealed a wide range of behavior, encompassing colossal magnetoresistance (CMR), high-TC superconductivity, and magnetic semiconductivity, all of which continue to present fundamental challenges to the understanding of such phenomena. There is, however, a close correlation between such characteristics and the appearance of magnetic order. This correlation underlies the present study, which focuses on the magnetic and transport behavior of various Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe) and Cobalt (Co) containing materials, with particular emphasis on the nature of the magnetic order they display and the critical exponents that characterize the accompanying phase transition. The magnetic and transport properties of two specific systems will be covered: first various doped manganites from the series (La,Pr)1-x(Ca,Ba)xMnO3, and second the magnetic semiconductors Fe0.8Co0.2Si and Ga0.98Mn0.02As. In the manganites, the influence of doping on; (i) the evolution of the metal-insulator transition (MIT) with composition; (ii) the universality class of the magnetic critical behavior associated with the paramagnetic to ferromagnetic transition, which occurs in the vicinity of a MIT with which CMR is associated; (iii) the mechanisms underlying ferromagnetism across the MIT; (iv) the correlation between the appearance of a Griffiths-like phase and CMR, and (v) the origin of Griffiths-like phase have been investigated. Four different systems have been studied: La1-xCaxMnO3 (0.18 ≤ x ≤ 0.27), La1-xBaxMnO3 (x ≤ 0.33), (La1-yPry)0.7Ca0.3Mn16/18O3 (y ≤ 0.85), and Pr1-xCaxMnO3 (x = 0.27, 0.29). In Fe0.8Co0.2Si and Ga0.98Mn0.02As, the scaling between magnetization and conductivity has been the subject of ongoing debate. In bulk Fe0.8Co0.2Si, a novel scaling between the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) and the magnetization enables the anomalous Hall coefficient to be accurately determined. In turn, this enables the universality class for the transition to ferromagnetism to be established independently from the anomalous Hall conductivity. In an epitaxial (metallic) Ga0.98Mn0.02As microstructure, the magnetization has been indirectly determined from the AHE. Subsequent analysis yields magnetic critical exponents consistent with the Mean-Field model, direct support for which had previously been lacking.

This work addresses the relevant errors of the anisotropic magnetoresistance sensor for inertial navigation systems. The manuscript provides resulting guidelines and solution for using the AMR sensors in a robust and appropriate way relative to the applications. New methods also are proposed to improve the performance and, reduce the power requirements and cost design of the magnetometer. The new compensation method is proposed by developing an optimization algorithm. The necessity of the sensor calibration is shown and the source of the errors and compensating model are investigated. Two novel methods of indoor calibration are proposed and examples of operating systems are presented.

Smart cards are widely used in different areas of modern life including identification, banking, and transportation cards. Some types of cards are able to store data and process information as well. A number of them can run cryptographic algorithms to enhance the security of their transactions and it is usually believed that the information and values stored in them are completely safe. However, this is generally not the case due to the threat of the side channel. Side channel analysis is the process of obtaining additional information from the internal activity of a physical device beyond that allowed by its specifications. There exist different techniques to attempt to obtain information from a cryptosystem using other ways than the normally permitted. This thesis presents a series of experiments intended to study the side channel from a particular type of smart card, known as Java Cards. This investigation uses the well known technique, Correlation Analysis, and a new type of side channel attack called fast correlation in the frequency domain to study the side channel of Java Cards. This research presents a giant magnetoresistor (GMR) probe and for the first time, this type of sensor is used to investigate the side channel. A novel setup designed for studying the side channel of smart cards is described and two metrics used to evaluate the analysis results are presented. After testing the GMR probe and methodology on electronic devices executing the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), such as 8 bit microcontrollers and 128 bit AES implementations on FPGAs, these techniques were applied to analyse two different models of Java Cards working in the contactless mode. The results show that successful attacks on a software implementation of AES running on both models of Java Cards are possible.

Title: Relativistic Theory of Electron Transport in Magnetic Layers Author: Rudolf Sýkora Department / Institute: Institude of Theoretical Physics Supervisor of the doctoral thesis: doc. RNDr. Ilja Turek, DrSc., Department of Condensed Matter Physics Abstract: We review the density-functional theory (DFT) in detail using the Levy Lieb ap- proach. The Kohn Sham scheme is discussed, starting from the simplest spinless non- relativistic case, then including spin and considering potential spin magnetism, and finally deriv- ing the full Kohn Sham Dirac relativistic scheme. The Linear Muffin-Tin Orbital (LMTO) method for electronic-structure calculation is presented, together with mentioning the necessary changes to include the spin-orbit (SO) interaction effects to an otherwise scalar-relativistic (SR) theory. Derivation of an electronic-conductance formula for a layered system is given, based on the Landauer scattering picture and using simple non-equilibrium Green functions. The formal- ism is applied to layered metallic systems of light elements Co, Ni, Cu elements, and to layered systems with a tunnelling barrier, Fe/MgO/Ag and Fe/GaAs/Ag. The effects of the SO interac- tion on the Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR) ratio and/or the Tunnelling Anisotropy Magnetore- sistance (TAMR) for these systems are discussed....

En spintronique, l’étude des hétérostructures multicouches composées d'une électrode ferromagnétique et d'une couche isolante mince, c'est-à-dire des jonctions tunnel magnétiques (JTM), est particulièrement importante. Le système canonique est le Fe/MgO/Fe où les hautes valeurs du rapport de la magnétoresistance tunnel (TMR) ont été mesurées. Le facteur crucial définissant la performance de la jonction est l’imperfection structurelle dans un dispositif réel. Dans notre travail, nous nous sommes concentrés sur des lacunes d'oxygène dans MgO. Au moyen de la théorie de la fonctionnelle de densité, nous avons étudié les propriétés électroniques de l'état fondamental des lacunes d'oxygène simples et doubles dans MgO massif, appelées respectivement centres F et M. Nous avons ensuite étudié l'impact de ces lacunes sur le transport balistique dans les jonctions magnétiques. Nous avons démontré le rôle supérieur joué par les centres M et nous avons prouvé qu'un transport cohérent, préservant le spin et la symétrie des électrons, est possible en présence de centres M. / In sprintronics, the study of multilayer heterostructures composed of a ferromagnetic electrodes and a thin insulating layer, i.e. magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs), is of special importance. The canonical systems are MTJs made of Fe/MgO/Fe where hight tunneling mangetoresistance ratio (TMR) values were measured. The crucial factor defining the junction performance is the structural imperfection appearing in a real devices. In our work we focused in particular on oxygen vacancies in MgO. By means of density functional theory we studied ground state electronic properties of single and double oxygen vacancies, referred as F and M centers, respectively, in bulk MgO. We then switched to full junctions where we investigated the impact of vacancies on the ballistic transport. We demonstrated that M centers played a superior role and proved that coherent transport, preserving electrons spin and symmetry, is possible in presence of paired vacancies.

In the present thesis, we have explored multiple aspects concerning the stochasticity of magnetic domain wall motion during magnetization reversal, all of which originated from our initial study of magnetic field sensing using planar Hall effect. Magnetic field sensors occupy a very important and indispensable position in modern technology. They can be found everywhere, from cellphones to automobiles, electric motors to computer hard disks. At present there are several emerging areas of technology, including biotechnology, which require magnetic field sensors which are at the same time simple to use, highly sensitive, robust under environmental conditions and sufficiently low cost to be deployed on a large scale. Magnetic field sensing using planar Hall effect is one such feasible technology, which we have explored in the course of the thesis. The work was subsequently expanded to cover some fundamental aspects of the stochasticity of domain wall motion, studied with planar Hall effect, which forms the main body of work in the present study. In Chapter 1, we give an introduction to the phenomenology of planar Hall effect, which is the most important measurement technique used for all the subsequent studies. Some early calculations, which had first led to the understanding of anisotropic magnetoresistance and planar Hall effect as being caused by spin-orbit interaction are discussed. In Chapter 2, we discuss briefly the experimental techniques used in the present study for sample growth and fabrication, structural and magnetic characterization, and measurement. We discuss pulsed laser ablation, which is the main technique used for our sample growth. Particular emphasis is given to the instrumentation that was carried out in-house for MOKE and low field magnetotransport (AMR and PHE) measurement. This includes an attempt at domain wall imaging through MOKE microscopy. Some of the standard equipments used for this work, such as the SQUID magnetometer and the acsusceptometer are also discussed in detail. In Chapter 3 we discuss our work on planar Hall sensors that led to the fabrication of a device with a very simple architecture, having transfer characteristics of 650V/A.T in a range of _2Oe. The sensing material was permalloy (Ni81Fe19), and the value had been obtained without using an exchange biased pinning layer. Field trials showed that the devices were capable of geomagnetic field sensing, as well as vehicle detection by sensing the anomaly in Earth's magnetic field caused by their motion. Its estimated detection threshold of 2.5nT made it well suited for several other applications needing high sensitivity in a small area, the most prominent of them being the detection of macromolecules of bio-medical significance. Chapter 4: The work on Barkhausen noise was prompted by reproducibility problems faced during the sensor construction, both between devices as well as within the same device. Study of the stochastic properties led us to the conclusion that the devices could be grouped into two classes: one where the magnetization reversal occurred in a single step, and the other where it took a 0staircase0 like path with multiple steps. This led us to simulations of Barkhausen noise using nucleation models like the RFIM whence it became apparent that the two different groups of samples could be mapped into two regimes of the RFIM distinguished by their magnetization reversal mode. In the RFIM, the nature of the hysteresis loop depends on the degree of disorder, with a crossover happening from single-step switching to multi-step switching at a critical disorder level. Appropriate changes also appear in the Barkhausen noise statistics due to this disorder-induced crossover. By studying the Barkhausen noise statistics for our permalloy samples and comparing them with simulations of the RFIM, we found nearly exact correspondence between the two experimental groups with the two classes resulting from crossing the critical disorder. What remained was to quantify the 0disorder0 level of our samples, which was done through XRD, residual resistivity and a study of electron-electron interaction effects in the resistivity. All these studies led to the conclusion that the samples reversing in multiple steps were more 0defective0 than the other group, at par with the model predictions. This completed the picture with respect to the modeling of the noise. In experiments, it was found that a high rate of film deposition yielded less 0defective0 samples, which severed as an important input for the sensor construction. These results can be viewed from a somewhat broader perspective if we consider the present scenario in the experimental study of Barkhausen noise, or crackling noise in general. Two classes of models exist for such phenomena: front propagation models and nucleation models. Both appear to be very successful when it comes to experiments with bulk materials, while the comparison with experiments on thin films is rather disappointing. It is still not clear whether the models are at fault or the experiments themselves. Through our study, we could demonstrate that there can be considerable variation in the Barkhausen noise character of the same material deposited in the same way, and what was important was the degree of order at the microscopic level. This may be a relevant factor when experimental papers report non-universality of Barkhausen noise in thin films, which can now be interpreted as either insufficient defects or a sample area too small for the study. Chapter 5: Defects in a sample are not the only cause for stochastic behavior during magnetization. In most cases, random thermal 0events0 are also an important factor determining the path to magnetization reversal, which was also true for our permalloy samples. We studied the distribution of the external fields at which magnetization reversal took place in our samples, and tried to explain it in terms of the popular Neel-Brown model of thermal excitation over the anisotropy barrier. The analysis showed that even though the coercivity behaved 0correctly0 in terms of the model predictions, the behavior of the distribution width was anomalous. Such anomalies were common in the literature on switching field distributions, but there seemed to be no unified explanation, with different authors coming up with their own 0exotic0 explanations. We decided to investigate the simplest situations that could result in such a behavior, and through some model-based calculations, came to the conclusion that one of the causes of the anomalies could be the different magnitudes of barrier heights/anisotropy fields experienced by the magnetic domain wall when the reversal occurs along different paths. Though an exact match for the behavior of the distribution width could not be obtained, the extended Neel-Brown model was able to produce qualitative agreement. Chapter 6 contains a study of some interesting 0geometrical0 effects on Barkhausen noise of iron thin films. By rotating the applied magnetic field out-of plane, we could observe the same single-step to multi-step crossover in hysteresis loop nature that was brought about by varying disorder in Chapter 4. We could explain this through simulations of a random anisotropy Ising model, which, apart from exhibiting the usual disorder induced crossover, showed a transition from sub-critical to critical hysteresis loops when the external field direction was rotated away form the average anisotropy direction. Once again, simulation and experiment showed very good agreement in terms of the qualitative behavior. In the second part of this chapter, a study of exchange biased Fe-FeMn system was carried out, where it was observed that the reversal mode has been changed from domain wall motion to coherent rotation. Barkhausen noise was also suppressed. Though many single-domain models existed for this type of reversal, our system was not found to be strictly compatible with them. The disagreement was with regard to the nature of the hysteresis, which, if present, had to be a single step process for a single domain model. The disagreement was naturally attributed to interaction with the nearby magnetic moments, to verify which, simulations were done with a simplified micromagnetic code, which produced excellent agreement with experiment. In Chapter 7, we have studied the temporal properties of Barkhausen avalanches, to compare the duration distributions with simulation. We had used a permalloy sample that was sub-critical according to avalanche size distributions, and our measurement was based on magneto-optic Kerr effect. We measured duration distributions which showed a similar manifestation of finite-size effects as were shown by the size distributions. The power law exponent was calculated, which was deemed 0reasonable0 upon comparison simulations of the sub-critical RFIM. Appendix A contains a study of high-field magnetoresistance of permalloy, which shows that the dominant contribution to magnetoresistance is the suppression of electron-magnon scattering. An interesting correlation is observed between the magnetization of samples and an exchange stiffness parameter d1, that was extracted from magnetoresistance measurements. Here we also re-visit our earlier observation of permalloy thin films possessing a resistance minimum at low temperature. The origin of this minimum is attributed to electron-electron interaction. Appendix B contains the source codes for most of the important programs used for simulation and data analysis. The programs are written in MATLAB and FORTRAN 95. LabView programs used for data acquisition and analysis are not included due to space requirements to display their graphical source codes. Appendix C discusses the studies on a disordered rare-earth oxide LaMnO3. The re-entrant glassy phase is characterized with ac susceptibility and magnetization measurements to extract information about the nature of interactions between the magnetic 0macrospins0 in the system. Appendix D deals with electron scattering experiments performed with spinpolarized electrons (SPLEED) from clean metal surfaces in UHV. A study of the scattering cross sections as a function of energy and scattering angle provides information about spin-orbit and exchange interactions of the electrons with the surface atoms, and can answer important questions pertaining to the electronic and magnetic structure of surfaces. In the course of this study, planar Hall effect is seen to emerge as a powerful tool to study the magnetic state of a thin film, so that it is interesting to apply it to thin films of other materials such as oxides, where magnetization noise studies are next to nonexistent. What also emerged is that there is still a lot of richness present in the details of supposedly well-understood magnetization phenomena, some of which we have explored in this thesis in the context of stochastic magnetization processes.

URhGe has garnered interest recently as one of the few known ferromagnetic superconductors. The superconductivity in this material appears to arise from magnetic fluctuations rather than phonons, and take a triplet form which is remarkably resistant to field. In this thesis, a number of measurements on the material are presented. Some probe the Fermiology, with strong evidence appearing for a model which as both light open sheets and heavy, small, closed pockets. The open sheets, associated with chains of real-space electron density running along the b axis, dominate the conductivity in most circumstances. Evidence for their existence arises from the general large and non-saturating magnetoresistance, and from the unusual observation of negative temperature coefficient of resistance at high fields. The closed pockets have provided a few Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, but mostly they remain inferred from the high specific heat γ and their role in the magnetism. In order to better probe the superconductivity, a high precision low noise DC resistance measurement bridge was built using a SQUID. Along with conventional measurements, this provides evidence that the two pockets of superconductivity on the phase diagram are the same phase. The re-entrance an be understood simply as a result of magnetic field being a tuning parameter, but also suppressing bulk superconductivity through orbital limiting. The SQUID bridge allowed the detection of domain wall superconductivity linking up these two pockets. The SQUID bridge was also used to study the highly structured superconducting transition in BiPd. This material lacks inversion symmetry in its crystal structure, so is a good candidate for unusual forms of superconductivity. Here again non-bulk superconductivity is considered the most likely cause for the structure. Unusual and distinctive IV curves have been measured, and a simple model of inhomogeneous conductivity channels with different critical currents is proposed as an explanation.

La qualité du transport électronique est l’une des clés permettant de soutenir la progression des performances pour les futures générations de composants. De très nombreux facteurs, comme le choix de l’isolant et du métal de grille, le matériau de canal ou la présence de contraintes mécaniques, affectent de façon négative ou positive ces propriétés de transport. L’épaisseur du canal, qui atteint des dimensions nanométriques joue également un rôle : interactions avec les interfaces, fluctuations d’épaisseurs, effets de couplage électrostatique ou quantique entre ces interfaces. Il est probable que des mécanismes d’interaction associés à la proximité des zones surdopées de source et de drain puissent également intervenir. A ces dimensions, on s’attend à observer des phénomènes de transport hors d’équilibre, voire balistique, qui peuvent remettre en question la validité des paramètres utilisés pour caractériser le transport. Donc avec l'avancement de la technologie, il devient nécessaire de faire évoluer les modèles de transport et les paramètres afin de mieux expliquer le fonctionnement du MOSFET. Cette thèse se concentre sur la compréhension des modèles de transport existants et des méthodes d'extraction pour les noeuds technologiques actuels et futures. Les modèles de transport et les méthodes d'extraction de paramètres en régime linéaire et de saturation ont été explorés au cours de cette thèse. L'impact de la résistance série, qui est une fonction de la tension de grille, dans les MOSFET avancés est pris en compte et une nouvelle méthode d'extraction améliorée a été développée dans le régime linéaire. Des mesures à basse température ont été utilisées en régime linéaire pour l'extraction des mécanismes de diffusion en utilisant le modèle de mobilité. Une nouvelle méthode de correction pour le courant de drain dans le régime de saturation pour les MOSFET canal court est développée en utilisant les mesures à basse température. Cela permet de corriger du DIBL ainsi que des effets de « self heating ». Le modèle de saturation de vitesse et la méthode d'extraction associée sont explorés dans le régime de saturation et sont étudiés en fonction de la température et de la longueur de canal. Les modèles balistique et quasi-balistique avec le concept de la « kT layer » en régime de saturation sont également étudiés pour les noeuds sub 32 nm. Mesurer la magnétorésistance offre des perspectives prometteuses pour les dispositifs à canal court et permettant d’extraire directement la mobilité, sans la nécessité de la connaissance des dimensions du canal. Un modèle analytique pour la magnétorésistance est développé dans le cadre des noeuds technologiques sub 32 nm pour les modèles de transport balistique et quasi-balistique. La mesure de la magnétorésistance est explorée dans la région de saturation pour la première fois jusqu'à 50 nm sur les MOSFET « bulk » afin de comprendre l'applicabilité de cette méthode d'extraction à ce régime. Enfin les dispositifs bulk+ FDSON, FinFET, et GAA sont caractérisés en fonction de la température et les mécanismes de transport dans ces nouveaux dispositifs sont étudiés jusqu'à 35 nm (FinFET). En outre, le paramètre de champ effectif η est extrait pour les dispositifs sSOI. On trouve qu’il est différent du cas « bulk » comme c'était le cas pour les résultats obtenues sur bulk contraint et FDSOI. Cela est interprété par la rugosité de surface et la diffusion des phonons en raison de l'occupation préférentielle de la sous la bande fondamentale dans ces dispositifs avancés. / Electron transport is one of the key properties that need to be improved in order to sustain performance improvement for the next technological nodes. Many factors, such as the choice of gate stack materials, channel material or the presence of mechanical strain contribute to degrade or improve transport properties. Body thickness, which reaches dimensions of a few nanometers, is playing a role as well, through interface scattering, thickness fluctuations or electrostatic and quantum coupling effects between front and back interfaces. In addition, it is strongly suspected that additional scattering mechanisms are associated with the proximity of the highly doped source and drain regions. For the sake of sub 32nm technology nodes development, it is of fundamental importance that these various mechanisms be identified and studied. In this range of dimensions, electron transport is governed by out of equilibrium, or even ballistic, phenomena. Therefore along with the advancement in the technology nodes, it becomes necessary to evolve the transport models and parameters to better explain the MOSFET operation. This thesis focuses on understanding the existing transport models and extraction methods and improving the same under the context of current and future technology nodes mainly sub 32nm. The MOSFET transport models and static parameter extraction methods in linear and saturation regime have been explored during the course of this thesis. The impact of gate voltage dependent series resistance in the advanced MOSFETs is taken into account and a new improved extraction method has being developed in the linear regime. Low temperature measurement is used in linear regime for the extraction of scattering mechanisms using mobility model. A new saturation drain current correction for short channel MOSFETs is developed for taking into account both DIBL and self-heating using low temperature measurement. Velocity saturation vsats model and extraction method is explored in the saturation regime and vsats is studied against temperature and channel lengths. Ballistic and quasi ballistic model with concept of kT layer in saturation regime is also studied for the sake of sub 32nm nodes. Channel magnetoresistance measurement offers promising prospects for short channel devices as we can directly extract the channel mobility without the need for the knowledge of channel dimensions. An analytical magnetoresistance model is developed in the context of sub 32nm technology nodes for full ballistic and quasi ballistic transport models. Magnetoresistance measurement is explored in the saturation region for the first time down to 50nm on bulk MOSFETs in order to understand the applicability of this extraction method in this regime. Finally Bulk+ FDSON, FinFET, and GAA devices are characterized with temperature and studied the transport mechanism in these novel devices down to 35nm (FinFET). Also effective field parameter η is extracted for sSOI devices and found that this is significantly different from bulk value as in the case of previous results in strained bulk and FDSOI devices and this is interpreted as increased surface roughness and phonon scattering due to preferential sub band occupation in these advanced devices.

Dans la première partie de cette thèse, nous étudions le renversement de l'aimantation de nanofils d'alliage FePt à forte anisotropie magnétocristalline. Lorsque la largeur du fil devient inférieure à la taille des dendrites, nous avons montré qu'il existe une transition du processus de renversement de l'aimantation, de la croissance de dendrites vers la propagation d'une paroi magnétique unique qui renverse tout le fil. Au-delà, la diminution de la largeur du fil jusqu'à la taille caractéristique du désordre et/ou de la rugosité moyenne conduit au renforcement de la coercivité. Ceci conduit finalement dans les fils ultra-fins à un renversement consistant en un mélange de nucléation de domaines et de propagation de parois magnétiques. Dans la deuxième partie, nous rapportons l'utilisation de la magnétorésistance de Magnon (MMR), qui provient de la contribution des magnons à la résistivité, pour mesurer le renversement d'aimantation, dans des nanostructures avec aimantation perpendiculaire (FePt) ou planaire (NiFe). Nous avons montré que la MMR peut être utilisée pour détecter le retournement de l'aimantation dans les nanofils et nano-aimants, et en particulier pour détecter la position d'une paroi magnétique le long d'un nanofil fabriqués à partir d'une couche unique. Enfin, nous étudions dans une dernière partie la dynamique de dépiégeage de paroi magnétique sous champ et sous courant, dans les deux systèmes FePt et NiFe. Nous observons trois types de dépiégeage de paroi, qui dépendent de la nature des défauts ou de la géométrie de la constriction. L'analyse statistique du temps de piégeage montre que le processus de dépiégeage peut être décrit comme procédant d'un chemin simple, de chemins en série, ou de chemins alternatifs. En outre, l'effet du courant sur tous ces mécanismes de dépiégeage s'est révélé équivalent à l'effet du champ appliqué, ce qui permet de mesurer l'efficacité du transfer de spin dans ces systèmes. / In the first part of this thesis, we study the magnetization reversal process of FePt nanowires with high magnetocrystalline anisotropy. When reducing the wire width below the mean dendrite width, the magnetization reversal favors a transition from the dendrite growth to the propagation of a single domain wall (DW). Further decreasing of the width towards the disorder length and/or the mean edge roughness leads to a large increase of coercivity, which finally results in a mix of DW propagation and nucleation in ultra-narrow wires. The second part focuses on the use of Magnon magnetoresistance (MMR), i.e., the magnon contribution to the resistivity, to study the magnetization reversal in nanostructures with either perpendicular (FePt) or planar magnetization (NiFe). We showed that MMR can be used in nanowires and nanomagnets, in particular to detect DW position in nanowires processed in a single layer. Finally, the dynamic of DW depinning under field and current in both FePt and NiFe systems has been studied. We observe three different modes of DW depinning, which depend on the nature of defects, or on the geometry of the constriction. Statistical analysis of the pinning time indeed shows that the depinning path can be described as simple path, serial paths or alternative paths. Additionally, the effect of DC current on all depinning mechanisms is found to be equivalent to the effect of applied field which, allow measuring the spin transfer efficiency in these systems.

En électronique de spin, le couple de transfert de spin (STT) et la magnétorésistance tunnel (TMR) dans les jonctions tunnel magnétiques à électrodes ferromagnétiques (F) sont deux phénomènes physiques essentiels. Dans cette thèse, nous présentons une étude théorique du STT dans des jonctions tunnel antiferromagnétiques (AF), où deux électrodes non-plus F mais AF sont séparées par une barrière isolante non-magnétique. Plus concrètement, les comportements du STT et de la TMR sont étudiés dans des jonctions tunnel AF cristallines, et ce, à l´aide de calculs de liaisons fortes dans le cadre du formalisme de Keldysh. Nous avons observé une distribution spatiale de la composante perpendiculaire du STT régulière et de signe alternatif, ce qui est similaire au comportement de la composante parallèle. Ces variations spatiales de la composante perpendiculaire sont cependant spécifiques à l'utilisation d'une barrière tunnel et contrastent avec les effets observés par le passé pour le cas de couches séparatrices métalliques. De plus, contrairement aux jonctions tunnel F conventionnelles, nous avons montré que la TMR peut augmenter avec la tension appliquée et atteindre des valeurs du même ordre de grandeur que pour des vannes de spin usuelles : tout-métallique et à électrodes F.L´analyse effectuée pour des AF est ensuite étendue aux matériaux ferrimagnétiques (FI), pour lesquels les AF constituent, somme toute, des cas limites. La complexité magnétique additionnelle inhérente aux FI se traduit par un comportement spatial du STT beaucoup plus riche dans les jonctions tunnel FI. Nous observons notamment que les paramètres électroniques tels que les largeurs et les décalages de bandes ont une très forte influence sur le STT. Plus particulièrement, la différence entre les couplages d'échange inter-spin locaux des deux sous-réseaux du FI donne lieu à une distribution spatiale du STT ondulatoire qui est modulée par la densité locale de spin. Il est possible d'ajuster cet effet en jouant sur la tension appliquée aux bornes de la jonction tunnel FI. Nous trouvons de plus que la différence entre les couplages d'échange inter-spin locaux constitue un paramètre fondamental pour la quantification des longueurs caractéristiques du STT dans les FIs. Ce paramètre peut être considéré comme un champ d´échange effectif, par similitude avec le cas usuel des Fs qui présentent un champ d´échange homogène.Pour finir, nous avons sondé expérimentalement les longueurs caractéristiques du STT dans des AFs. Pour de l'Ir20Mn80 et du Fe50Mn50, nous avons déterminé les longueurs de pénétration de spin et les mécanismes d'absorption de courants de spin à température ambiante en utilisant la résonance F et le pompage de spin. Plus précisément, nous avons associé les profondeurs de pénétration critiques à deux mécanismes d'absorption distincts: du déphasage pour l´Ir20Mn80 et du retournement de spin pour le Fe50Mn50. / Spin transfer torque (STT) and tunnelling magnetoresistance (TMR) in magnetic tunnel junctions with ferromagnetic (F) leads are two essential underlying phenomena of modern spintronics. We present here a theoretical study of STT in antiferromagnet (AF) based tunnel junctions, where two AF metal electrodes are separated by a thin nonmagnetic insulating barrier. In particular, the behaviour of STT and TMR in epitaxial AF-based tunnel junctions is investigated using tight binding calculations in the framework of the Keldysh formalism. The spatial distribution of the STT out-of-plane component is found to be staggered, similar to the in-plane component. This behaviour is specific to the use of a tunnel barrier and significantly differs from the out-of-plane torques reported in previous works using a metallic spacer. Additionally, we show that unlike conventional ferromagnetic-based tunnel junctions, the TMR can increase with applied bias and reach values comparable to typical magnetoresistances found for usual spin valves.Next, the analysis carried out for AFs is extended to ferrimagnets (FI), for which AFs constitute simpler limiting cases. The additional magnetic complexity inherent to FI materials yields to a richer physics concerning the STT spatial behaviour in FI based tunnel junctions.Electronic structure parameters such as band widths and exchange splittings of the FI are shown to have a strong influence on STT. In particular, the STT spatial distribution within the leads exhibits a striking spin-modulated wave-like behaviour resulting from the interplay between the exchange splittings of the two FI sublattices. This wave-like behaviour can also be tuned via the applied voltage across the junction. Furthermore, the fundamental intrinsic parameter for quantifying STT characteristic lengths in FI metals is identified. This fundamental parameter can be considered as an effective exchange field in FIs, similar to the homogeneous exchange field in the F case.Finally, the STT characteristic lengths in AF materials are investigated experimentally. Here, room temperature critical depths and absorption mechanisms of spin currents in Ir20Mn80 and Fe50Mn50 are determined by F-resonance and spin pumping. In particular, room temperature critical depths are observed to be originated from different absorption mechanisms: dephasing for Ir20Mn80 and spin flipping for Fe50Mn50.