Engineering topics

Page, Michael R.

Publications and source records attributed to Page, Michael R..

6 records

DOE OSTI2022

Functional properties of Yttrium Iron Garnett thin films on graphene-coated Gd 3 Ga 5 O 12 for remote epitaxial transfer

Remote epitaxial growth via a graphene interlayer and subsequent mechanical exfoliation of a free-standing membrane is a recently developed technique used to transfer complex oxide thin films onto non-native substrates to form heterogeneously integrated structures for various device applications. One such oxide is Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG), a material of choice for a wide range of magnetoelectric and spintronic devices owing to its strong magnetic properties and low microwave losses. YIG is predominantly grown on lattice matched Gadolinium Gallium Garnet (GGG) substrates, but by utilizing the remote epitaxy technique, high quality YIG films can be transferred from GGG onto another substrate such as piezoelectric Lithium Niobate (LN). Mechanical strain coupling between the layers and magnetostrictive nature of YIG would allow for the investigation of the interplay in YIG/LN structures leading to the design of novel frequency agile magneto-acoustic devices. In this study functional properties of a YIG film grown using PLD on graphene-coated GGG substrate were investigated and compared to traditional YIG on GGG. Both materials were characterized in terms of crystal structure, surface morphology, FMR and Gilbert damping, and Raman and XAS spectroscopy. Further, it was found that YIG on graphene-coated GGG exhibits significantly higher microwave losses than standard YIG on GGG (FMR linewidth 30.9 vs 2.1 Oe at 10 GHz, and Gilbert damping coefficient 15.4x10 -4 vs 3.4x10 -4 respectively), which was attributed to increased concentration of Fe 2+ cations in YIG/Graphene/GGG. While the damping is higher in these studied films compared to YIG grown directly on GGG, the resulting properties are still very favorable compared to many other competing materials which can be grown without the need for lattice matched substrates, such as metallic ferromagnets.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2019

Ultrathin interfacial layer with suppressed room temperature magnetization in magnesium aluminum ferrite thin films

Low-damping magnetic oxide thin films with small thicknesses are essential for efficient insulator spintronic devices, particularly those driven by spin torque effects. Here, we investigate the depth-resolved compositional and magnetic properties of epitaxial spinel MgAl 0.5 Fe 1.5 O 4 (MAFO), which has recently been reported as a promising low-damping insulator. We find that ≈11nm films exhibit optimal Gilbert damping, with a typical damping parameter of 0.001. While defects due to strain relaxation in the bulk of the film contribute to increased damping for large film thickness, the damping increase in thinner films is attributed to the presence of a chemically disordered magnetic dead layer at the film/substrate interface. This interfacial dead layer arises from an Fe-deficient MAFO layer. Notably, this layer is only about one-sixth the thickness of that found at the interface between yttrium iron garnet films and gadolinium gallium garnet substrates, making MAFO an ideal thin-film insulator for spin-torque applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2017

Engineering the Spectrum of Dipole Field-Localized Spin-Wave Modes to Enable Spin-Torque Antidamping

Auto-oscillation of a ferromagnet due to spin-orbit torques in response to a dc current is of wide interest as a flexible mechanism for generating controllable high-frequency magnetic dynamics. However, degeneracies of the spin-wave modes and nonlinear magnon-magnon scattering impede coherent precession. Discretization of the spin-wave modes can reduce this scattering. Furthermore, spatial localization of the spin-wave modes by the strongly inhomogeneous dipole magnetic field of a nearby spherical micromagnet provides variable spatial confinement, thus offering the option of systematic tunability of magnon spectrum for studying multimode interactions. Here we demonstrate that field localization generates a discrete spin-wave spectrum observable as a series of well-resolved localized modes in the presence of imposed spin currents arising from the spin Hall effect in a permalloy-platinum (Py/Pt) microstrip. The observation of linewidth reduction through damping control in this micromagnetically engineered spectrum demonstrates that localized modes can be controlled efficiently, an important step toward continuously tunable spin Hall effect–driven auto-oscillators.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2016

Exceptionally high magnetization of stoichiometric Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 epitaxial films grown on Gd 3 Ga 5 O 12

The saturation magnetization of Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 (YIG) epitaxial films 4 to 250 nm in thickness has been determined by complementary measurements including the angular and frequency dependencies of the ferromagnetic resonance fields as well as magnetometry measurements. The YIG films exhibit state-of-the-art crystalline quality, proper stoichiometry, and pure Fe 3+ valence state. The values of YIG magnetization obtained from all the techniques significantly exceed previously reported values for single crystal YIG and the theoretical maximum. This enhancement of magnetization, not attributable to off-stoichiometry or other defects in YIG, thus opens opportunities for tuning magnetic properties in epitaxial films of magnetic insulators.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2015

Correlating spin transport and electrode magnetization in a graphene spin valve: Simultaneous magnetic microscopy and non-local measurements

Using simultaneous magnetic force microscopy and transport measurements of a graphene spin valve, we correlate the non-local spin signal with the magnetization of the device electrodes. The imaged magnetization states corroborate the influence of each electrode within a one-dimensional spin transport model and provide evidence linking domain wall pinning to additional features in the transport signal.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2014

A versatile LabVIEW and field-programmable gate array-based scanning probe microscope for in operando electronic device characterization

Understanding the complex properties of electronic and spintronic devices at the micro- and nano-scale is a topic of intense current interest as it becomes increasingly important for scientific progress and technological applications. In operando characterization of such devices by scanning probe techniques is particularly well-suited for the microscopic study of these properties. We have developed a scanning probe microscope (SPM) which is capable of both standard force imaging (atomic, magnetic, electrostatic) and simultaneous electrical transport measurements. We utilize flexible and inexpensive FPGA (field-programmable gate array) hardware and a custom software framework developed in National Instrument's LabVIEW environment to perform the various aspects of microscope operation and device measurement. The FPGA-based approach enables sensitive, real-time cantilever frequency-shift detection. Using this system, we demonstrate electrostatic force microscopy of an electrically biased graphene field-effect transistor device. The combination of SPM and electrical transport also enables imaging of the transport response to a localized perturbation provided by the scanned cantilever tip. Facilitated by the broad presence of LabVIEW in the experimental sciences and the openness of our software solution, our system permits a wide variety of combined scanning and transport measurements by providing standardized interfaces and flexible access to all aspects of a measurement (input and output signals, and processed data). Our system also enables precise control of timing (synchronization of scanning and transport operations) and implementation of sophisticated feedback protocols, and thus should be broadly interesting and useful to practitioners in the field.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗