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Spin Wave Emitting Effect Caused by Current-induced Spin
Transfer Torque in PSV
1
Chen Peiyi, Hu Jiuning, Zhang Lei, Ren Min, Dong Hao, Deng Ning
Tsinghua National Laboratory for Information Science and Technology Institute of
Microelectronics, Tsinghua Uninersity, Beijing (100084)
Email: chenpy@tsinghua.edu.cn
Abstract
This article presents a magnetic dynamics description for current-induced STT in PSV, which could
illuminate that the effects of SWE and CIMS in magnetic multiplayer nanostructures. The spin current
polarization is determined by the continuity boundary condition of spin current and chemical potential
under the case of conduction matching. The roles of longitudinal and transverse components of STT are
different in magnetic multiplayer that longitudinal one generates CIMS effect, while transverse one is
necessary for SWE effect. From the theory, the double spin wave modes have been naturally obtained
by LLG equation, which are x mode and y mode, respectively, due to the transverse STT, and cause
resistance of magnetic multiplayer altering following time with frequency 2ω or ω(precession
frequency). Magnetic field and spin current control frequency and power of SWE according to this
theory, which predicts a special device structure, for example, the perpendicular configuration, should
present much higher efficiency of SWE that has been demonstrated by some experiment results.
Keywords: Spin wave emitting; Spin transfer torque; Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation; Spin
oscillation modes
PACS: 72.25.Ba, 75.75.+a, 72.25.Hg
1. Introduction
The spin wave emitting (SWE) effect caused by spin polarized current normal to the film surface
passing through the nanoscale magnetic multilayer has been devoted much effort as the current induced
magnetic switching (CIMS) effect recently [1-6] that may be applied as new devices, for example,
some kind of microwave sources. The spin transfer torque (STT) in the magnetic multilayer excites the
spin dynamics to influence the both direction and magnitude of magnetization of the free layer and
generates stable radio frequency signal came from the variety of the resistance of the magnetic
multilayer that could not be attained with magnetic field alone [6], since the magnetization precession
with symmetrical distribution of the azimuth angle
ϕ
does not alter the resistance of the magnetic
multilayer. In this paper the SWE effect in the pseudo-spin-valve (PSV) under external magnetic and
electric fields is theoretically investigated, and the integral contribution from the conduction electrons
and local electrons for magnetization of the free layer was emphasized, while their exchange
interaction, as internal interaction, is not taken into account, because it only transfers the spin moment
from mobile electrons to d electrons that does not change the total spin moment in the free layer. The
only dissipative process in the PSV is Gilbert damping which competes with spin torque and lead to a
quasi-stable state in the free layer. Actually, the exchange interaction between the fixed and free layers
contributes to the effective filed a part, called coupling field, related to the fixed layer magnetization
[6,7,8]. SWE and CIMS are both caused by STT in similar magnetic configuration, so it is naturally
necessary to figure out the concern between SWE and CIMS. As we will see, STT plays as the key of
the concern. In our model, the modulus square (m
s
2
) of the magnetization of the free layer is assumed
to be constant. When a spin polarized current passes through the free layer, if the amplitude of
transverse component of magnetization vector in the free layer oscillates following time, due to
m
s
2
=m
x
2
+m
y
2
+m
z
2
being constant, so does that of longitudinal component, which would cause change
1
Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China(Grant No.20060003067),
National Basic Research Program of China(Grant No.2006CB921106), National Natural Science Foundation of
China(Grant No.60606021).