The field of magnonics attracts significant attention due to the possibility of utilizing information coded into the spin-wave phase or amplitude to perform computation operations on the nanoscale. Recently, spin waves were investigated in Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) waveguides with widths down to 50 nm and aspect ratios of thickness to width approaching unity. A critical width was found, below which the exchange interaction suppresses the dipolar pinning phenomenon, and the system becomes unpinned. Here, we continue these investigations and analyze the pinning phenomenon and spin-wave dispersion as functions of temperature, thickness, and material parameters. Higher order modes, the influence of a finite wavevector along the waveguide, and the impact of the pinning phenomenon on the spin-wave lifetime are discussed, as well as the influence of a trapezoidal cross-section and edge roughness of the waveguide. The presented results are of particular interest for potential applications in magnonic devices and the incipient field of quantum magnonics at cryogenic temperatures.

The fundamental phenomenon of Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) has been observed in different systems of real and quasi-particles. The condensation of real particles is achieved through a major reduction in temperature while for quasi-particles a mechanism of external injection of bosons by irradiation is required. Here, we present a novel and universal approach to enable BEC of quasi-particles and to corroborate it experimentally by using magnons as the Bose-particle model system. The critical point to this approach is the introduction of a disequilibrium of magnons with the phonon bath. After heating to an elevated temperature, a sudden decrease in the temperature of the phonons, which is approximately instant on the time scales of the magnon system, results in a large excess of incoherent magnons. The consequent spectral redistribution of these magnons triggers the Bose-Einstein condensation.

B. HEINZ, 2 Q. WANG, 3 R. VERBA, V.I. VASYUCHKA, M. KEWENIG, P. PIRRO, M. SCHNEIDER, T. MEYER, 5 B. LÄGEL, C. DUBS, T. BRÄCHER, O.V. DOBROVOLSKIY, A.V. CHUMAK 1, 3 1 Fachbereich Physik and Landesforschungszentrum OPTIMAS, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern (Erwin-Schrödinger-Straße 56, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany) 2 Graduate School Materials Science in Mainz (Staudingerwerg 9, 55128 Mainz, Germany) 3 Nanomagnetism and Magnonics, Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna (Boltzmanngasse 5, A-1090 Wien, Austria; e-mail: andrii.chumak@univie.ac.at) 4 Institute of Magnetism (36-b, Vernadskogo Blvd., Kyiv 03142, Ukraine) 5 THATec Innovation GmbH (Augustaanlage 23, 68165 Mannheim, Germany) 6 Nano Structuring Center, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern (Erwin-Schrödinger-Straße 13, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany) 7 INNOVENT e.V., Technologieentwicklung (Prüssingstraße 27B, 07745 Jena, Germany)

The emerging field of magnonics uses spin waves and their quanta, magnons, to implement wave‐based computing on the micro‐ and nanoscale. Multifrequency magnon networks would allow for parallel data processing within single logic elements, whereas this is not the case with conventional transistor‐based electronic logic. However, a lack of experimentally proven solutions to efficiently combine and separate magnons of different frequencies has impeded the intensive use of this concept. Herein, the experimental realization of a spin‐wave demultiplexer enabling frequency‐dependent separation of magnonic signals in the gigahertz range is demonstrated. The device is based on 2D magnon transport in the form of spin‐wave beams in unpatterned magnetic films. The intrinsic frequency dependence of the beam direction is exploited to realize a passive functioning obviating an external control and additional power consumption. This approach paves the way to magnonic multiplexing circuits enabling simultaneous information transport and processing.

Modern-day CMOS-based computation technology is reaching its fundamental limitations. The emerging field of magnonics, which utilizes spin waves for data transport and processing, proposes a promising path to overcome these limitations. Different devices have been demonstrated recently on the macro- and microscale, but the feasibility of the magnonics approach essentially relies on the scalability of the structure feature size down to the extent of a few 10 nm, which are typical sizes for the established CMOS technology. Here, we present a study of propagating spin-wave packets in individual yttrium iron garnet (YIG) conduits with lateral dimensions down to 50 nm. Space and time-resolved microfocused Brillouin-light-scattering (BLS) spectroscopy is used to characterize the YIG nanostructures and measure the spin-wave decay length and group velocity directly. The revealed magnon transport at the scale comparable to the scale of CMOS proves the general feasibility of magnon-based data processing.

Modern-days CMOS-based computation technology is reaching its fundamental limitations. The emerging field of magnonics, which utilizes spin waves for data transport and processing, proposes a promising path to overcome these limitations. Different devices have been demonstrated recently on the macro- and microscale, but the feasibility of the magnonics approach essentially relies on the scalability of the structure feature size down to an extent of a few 10 nm, which are typical sizes for the established CMOS technology. Here, we present a study of propagating spin-wave packets in individual yttrium iron garnet (YIG) conduits with lateral dimensions down to 50 nm. Space and time resolved micro-focused Brillouin-Light-Scattering (BLS) spectroscopy is used to characterize the YIG nanostructures and measure the spin-wave decay length and group velocity directly. The revealed magnon transport at the scale comparable to the scale of CMOS proves the general feasibility of a magnon-based data processing.

Spin waves are investigated in Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) waveguides with a thickness of 39 nm and widths ranging down to 50 nm, i.e., with aspect ratios thickness over width approaching unity, using Brillouin Light Scattering spectroscopy. The experimental results are verified by a semi-analytical theory and micromagnetic simulations. A critical width is found, below which the exchange interaction suppresses the dipolar pinning phenomenon. This changes the quantization criterion for the spin-wave eigenmodes and results in a pronounced modification of the spin-wave characteristics. The presented semi-analytical theory allows for the calculation of spin-wave mode profiles and dispersion relations in nano-structures.

We investigate the amplification of externally excited spin-waves via the spin-transfer-torque (STT) effect in combination with the spin-Hall effect (SHE) resulting from short current pulses. In the case of overcompensation of the spin-wave damping, a strong nonlinear shift of the spin-wave frequency spectrum occurs. In particular, this shift limits spin-wave amplification from the SHE-STT effect. However, it allows for the realization of a spin-wave switch. At the corresponding working point, efficient spin-wave excitation is possible only in the presence of the SHE-STT effect with a spin-wave intensity that is a factor of 20 larger than in the absence of the SHE-STT effect.

We present a time-resolved study of the magnetization dynamics in a microstructured Cr|Heusler|Pt waveguide driven by the Spin-Hall-Effect and the Spin-Transfer-Torque effect via short current pulses. In particular, we focus on the determination of the threshold current at which the spin-wave damping is compensated. We have developed a novel method based on the temporal evolution of the magnon density at the beginning of an applied current pulse at which the magnon density deviates from the thermal level. Since this method does not depend on the signal-to-noise ratio, it allows for a robust and reliable determination of the threshold current which is important for the characterization of any future application based on the Spin-Transfer-Torque effect.

We report on the determination of the spin Hall angle in ultra-clean, defect-reduced epitaxial Pt films. By applying vector network analyzer ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy to a series of single crystalline Fe (12 nm) /Pt (tPt) bilayers we determine the real part of the spin mixing conductance (4.4 ± 0.2) × 1019 m−2 and reveal a very small spin diffusion length in the epitaxial Pt (1.1 ± 0.1) nm film. We investigate the spin pumping and ISHE in a stripe microstucture excited by a microwave coplanar waveguide antenna. By using their different angular dependencies, we distinguish between spin rectification effects and the inverse spin Hall effect. The relatively large value of the spin Hall angle (5.7 ± 1.4)% shows that ultra-clean e-beam evaporated non-magnetic materials can also have a comparable spin-to-charge current conversion efficiency as sputtered high resistivity layers.

Brillouin light scattering measurements were performed in the backscattering geometry on a Bi-substituted rare earth iron garnet. We observed two different peaks, one attributed to a surface spin wave in the dipole-exchange regime. The other is referred to as a backscattering magnon mode, because the incident light in this case is scattered backward by exchange-dominated spin wave inside the material. We propose a method to estimate the exchange stiffness constant from the frequency of the backscattering magnon mode. The obtained value is comparable with the previously reported values for Y$ _3 $Fe$ _5 $O$ _{12} $.

We present a time-resolved study of the evolution of the spin-wave intensity and phase in a local parametric spin-wave amplifier at pumping powers close to the threshold of parametric generation. We show that the phase of the amplified spin waves is determined by the phase of the incoming signal-carrying spin waves and that it can be preserved on long time scales as long as the energy input by the input spin waves is provided. In contrast, the phase-information is lost in such a local spin-wave amplifier as soon as the input spin-wave is switched off. These findings are an important benchmark for the use of parametric amplifiers in logic circuits relying on the spin-wave phase as information carrier. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The miniaturization of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) devices becomes increasingly difficult due to fundamental limitations and the increase of leakage currents. Large research efforts are devoted to find alternative concepts that allow for a larger data-density and lower power consumption than conventional semiconductor approaches. Spin waves have been identified as a potential technology that can complement and outperform CMOS in complex logic applications, profiting from the fact that these waves enable wave computing on the nanoscale. The practical application of spin waves, however, requires the demonstration of scalable, CMOS compatible spin-wave detection schemes in material systems compatible with standard spintronics as well as semiconductor circuitry. Here, we report on the wave-vector independent detection of short-waved spin waves with wavelengths down to 150 nm by the inverse spin Hall effect in spin-wave waveguides made from ultrathin Ta/Co8Fe72B20/MgO. These findings open up the path for miniaturized scalable interconnects between spin waves and CMOS and the use of ultrathin films made from standard spintronic materials in magnonics.

We present a time-resolved study of the DC-current driven magnetization dynamics in a microstructured Cr/Heusler/Pt waveguide by means of Brillouin light scattering. A reduction of the effective spin-wave damping via the spin-transfer-torque effect leads to a strong increase in the magnon density. This is accompanied by a decrease of the spin-wave frequencies. By evaluating the time scales of these effects, we find that the frequency shift can be attributed to a heating of the magnetic layer. Further investigations reveal that this heating is dominantly caused by the decay of spin waves which is accompanied by a flow of energy from the spin-wave system to the phonon system. In contrast, Joule heating due to the electric current and nonlinear effects only play a minor role. The results show that in any magnetic system which is strongly excited by the spin-transfer-torque effect the contribution to the temperature increase by an increased magnon density needs to be considered.

We present the temperature dependence of the thermal magnon density in a thin ferromagnetic layer. By employing Brillouin light scattering and varying the temperature, an increase of the magnon density accompanied by a lowering of the spin-wave frequency is observed with increasing temperature. The magnon density follows the temperature according to the Bose-Einstein distribution function, which leads to an approximately linear dependency. In addition, the influence of this effect in spin-transfer-torque-driven systems is presented. In particular, the increase in the magnon density with temperature sets the limit for a suppression of magnons in charge current-driven systems. Hence, the maximum possible suppression of thermal magnons occurs at a finite current.

A study of the multilayer system MgO/CoFeB(1.1 nm)/Ta(t)/CoFeB(0.8 nm)/MgO is presented, where the two CoFeB layers are separated by a Ta interlayer of varying thickness t. The magnetization properties deduced from complementary techniques such as superconducting quantum interference magnetometry, ferromagnetic resonance frequency measurements and Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy can be tuned by changing the Ta thickness between t = 0.25 nm, 0.5 nm and 0.75 nm. For t = 0.5 nm, a ferromagnetic coupling is observed, whereas for t = 0.75 nm, the antiferromagnetic coupling needed to construct a synthetic ferrimagnet is realized. In the latter case, the shape of magnetic domain walls between two ferrimagnetic alignments or between a ferro-and a ferrimagnetic alignment is very different. This behavior can be interpreted as a result of the change in dipolar as well as interlayer exchange energy and domain wall pinning, which is an important conclusion for the realization of data storage devices based on synthetic ferri-and antiferromagnets. (C) 2017 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

The temporal evolution of pulsed spin Hall effect-spin transfer torque (SHE-STT) driven auto-oscillations in a yttrium iron garnet (YIG)-platinum (Pt) microdisk is studied experimentally using time-resolved Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy. The frequency of the auto-oscillations is different in the center when compared to the edge of the disk and is related to the simultaneous STT excitation of a bullet and a non-localized spin-wave mode. Furthermore, the magnetization precession intensity saturates on a time scale of 20 ns or longer, depending on the current density. For this reason, our findings suggest that a proper ratio between the current and the pulse duration is of crucial importance for future STT-based devices.

We report on the excitation and detection of short-waved spin waves with wave vectors up to about $40,mathrm{rad},mumathrm{m}^{-1}$ in spin-wave waveguides made from ultrathin, in-plane magnetized Co$_{8}$Fe$_{72}$B$_{20}$ (CoFeB). The CoFeB is incorporated in a layer stack of Ta/CoFeB/Mgo, a layer system featuring large spin orbit torques and a large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy constant. The short-waved spin waves are excited by nanometric coplanar waveguides and are detected via spin rectification and microfocussed Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy. We show that the large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy benefits the spin-wave lifetime greatly, resulting in a lifetime comparable to bulk systems without interfacial damping. The presented results pave the way for the successful extension of magnonics to ultrathin asymmetric layer stacks featuring large spin orbit torques.

We investigate the effect of Al doping on the magnetic properties of the CoFeB alloy. Comparative measurements of the saturation magnetization, the Gilbert damping parameter α, and the exchange constant as a function of the annealing temperature for CoFeB and CoFeAlB thin films are presented. Our results reveal a strong reduction of the magnetization for CoFeAlB in comparison to CoFeB. If the prepared CoFeAlB films are amorphous, the damping parameter α is unaffected by the Al doping in comparison to the CoFeB alloy. In contrast, in the case of a crystalline CoFeAlB film, α is found to be reduced. Furthermore, the x-ray characterization and the evolution of the exchange constant with the annealing temperature indicate a similar crystallization process in both alloys. The data prove that CoFeAlB fulfills the requirements to be considered an attractive candidate for spin torque switching purposes and a reduction of the switching current in comparison with CoFeB is expected.

The temporal evolution of pulsed Spin Hall Effect - Spin Transfer Torque (SHE-STT) driven auto-oscillations in a Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) / platinum (Pt) microdisc is studied experimentally using time-resolved Brillouin Light Scattering (BLS) spectroscopy. It is demonstrated that the frequency of the auto-oscillations is different in the center and at the edge of the investigated disc that is related to the simultaneous STT excitation of a bullet and a non-localized spin-wave mode. Furthermore, the magnetization precession intensity is found to saturate on a time scale of 20 ns or longer, depending on the current density. For this reason, our findings suggest that a proper ratio between the current and the pulse duration is of crucial importance for future STT-based devices.