Frequency modulation of spin-transfer oscillators

Published

February 18, 2005

Author(s)

Matthew Pufall, William Rippard, Shehzaad F. Kaka, Thomas J. Silva, Stephen E. Russek

Abstract

Spin-polarized dc electric current flowing into a magnetic layer can induce precession of the magnetization at a frequency that depends on current. We show that addition of an ac current to this dc bias current results in a frequency modulated (FM) spectral output, generating sidebands spaced at the modulation frequency. The sideband amplitudes and shift of the center frequency with drive amplitude are in good agreement with a nonlinear FM model that takes into account the nonlinear frequency-current relation generally induced by spin transfer. Single-domain simulations show that ac current modulates the cone angle of the magnetization precession, in turn modulating the frequency via the demagnetizing field. These results are promising for communications and signal processing applications of spin-transfer oscillators.

Citation

Applied Physics Letters

Volume

86

Issue

082506

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

frequency modulation, magnetic media, nonlinear, precession, spin-transfer oscillator

Citation

Pufall, M. , Rippard, W. , Kaka, S. , Silva, T. and Russek, S. (2005), Frequency modulation of spin-transfer oscillators, Applied Physics Letters, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=31817 (Accessed October 8, 2025)