Microwave generation in magnetic multilayers and nanostructures

Published

September 1, 2007

Author(s)

William Rippard, Matthew Pufall

Abstract

We present an overview of the coherent magnetic precessional dynamics induced by the spin transfer effect in magnetic nanostructures. The precessional frequencies of the magnetic oscillators can be tuned over a range of several gigahertz by varying the dc current through the devices. The oscillation frequencies also depend on the applied magnetic field, resulting in a nanoscale oscillator that can be tuned from a few gigahertz to greater than 40 GHz. Even at room temperature, the linewidths of these excitations are often only a few megahertz. This gives quality factors for the excitations of more than 18,000 at the highest frequency ranges. As the direction of the applied field changes from parallel to perpendicular to the film plane, the power output from the structures increases by several orders of magnitude. For fields applied nearly perpendicular to the film plane, the high frequency voltage output from the device can be a significant fraction of the maximum voltage expected from the giant magnetoresistance effect. The nanoscale oscillators also display a number of attributes making them attractive for potential technological applications. These include the ability to frequency modulate the devices, phase lock them to external reference signals, and electronically control their phase relative to that of an input signal.

Citation

Handbook of Magnetism and Advanced Magnetic Materials

Volume

2

Publisher Info

John Wiley & Sons Ltd., West Sussex, UK

Pub Type

Books

Keywords

Frequency modulation, Injection locking, Magnetodynamics, Microwave oscillators, Precessional dynamics, Spin torque, Spin transfer

Citation

Rippard, W. and Pufall, M. (2007), Microwave generation in magnetic multilayers and nanostructures, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., West Sussex, UK (Accessed April 19, 2024)