On-line SPICE-SPIN+X Seminars

On-line Seminar: 01.03.2023 - 15:00 German Time

Coherent manipulation of spins in diamond via spin-wave mixing

Toeno van der Sar, TU Delft

Coherent manipulation of spins in diamond via spin-wave mixing Magnetic imaging based on nitrogen-vacancy (NV) spins in diamond enables probing condensed matter systems with nanoscale resolution[1]. In this talk I will introduce NV magnetometry as a tool for imaging spin waves – the wave-like spin excitations of magnetic materials. Using the NV sensitivity to microwave magnetic fields, we can map coherent spin waves[2] and incoherent magnon gases[3] and provide insight into their interaction and damping[4]. By using a single NV in a scanning diamond tip we gain access to spin-wave scattering at the nanoscale[5]. I will highlight how we can use spin-wave mixing to generate frequency combs that enable high-fidelity, coherent control of the NV spins even when the applied microwave drive fields are far detuned from the NV spin resonance frequency 6 (Fig. 1). These results form a basis for developing NV magnetometry into a tool for characterizing spin-wave devices and expand the control and sensing capabilities of NV spins.

[1] Casola, F., Van Der Sar, T. & Yacoby, A. Probing condensed matter physics with magnetometry based on nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond. Nat. Rev. Mater. 3, 17088 (2018).
[2] Bertelli, I. et al. Magnetic resonance imaging of spin-wave transport and interference in a magnetic insulator. Sci. Adv. 6, eabd3556 (2020).
[3] Simon, B. G. et al. Directional Excitation of a High-Density Magnon Gas Using Coherently Driven Spin Waves. Nano Lett. 21, 8213–8219 (2021).
[4] Bertelli, I. et al. Imaging Spin‐Wave Damping Underneath Metals Using Electron Spins in Diamond. Adv. Quantum Technol. 4, 2100094 (2021).
[5] Simon, B. G. et al. Filtering and imaging of frequency-degenerate spin waves using nanopositioning of a single-spin sensor. Nano Lett. 22, 9198 (2022).
[6] Carmiggelt, J. J. et al. Broadband microwave detection using electron spins in a hybrid diamondmagnet sensor chip. Nat. Commun. 14, 490 (2022)

 

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PDF file of the talk available here

Satoshi Ikegaya

The unambiguous detection of Majorana bound states (MBSs) in topological superconductors has been a central topic of condensed matter physics for recent years. So far, the presence of MBSs was demonstrated experimentally in a number of topologically nontrivial superconducting systems. In this connection, clear evidences of Majorana bound states are only obtained by the detection of zero-bias conductance peaks in tunneling transport measurements. In recent years, it became clear that various additional signatures of Majorana modes need to be investigated in order to complete our understanding.
In our presentation, we summarize two unambiguous fingerprints which can act as a ‘smoking gun’evidence. First we study the anomalous nonlocal conductance due to chiral Majorana edge states in a superconductor/ferromagnet hybrid as shown in Fig. 1(a). We obtain the important result that the chiral nature of the Majorana edge states causes an anomalously long-range and chirality-sensitive nonlocal transport in this device. This, in turn, enables us to identify conclusively the moving direction and further properties of the chiral Majorana edge states [1]. Secondly, we propose a novel experiment for achieving the first experimental observation of the anomalous proximity effect caused by Majorana bound states. In particular, we discuss the differential conductance of a semiconductor/superconductor hybrid as shown in Fig. 1(b), which contains a planar topological Josephson junction realized in recent experiments. The conductance spectrum changes drastically through the topological phase transition because the Majorana bound state appearing only in the topologically nontrivial phase can penetrate into the dirty normal segment and form the resonant transmission channel there [2]. In general, our results allow contrasting singlet and triplet superconductivity employing properties of Majorana modes beyond zero bias peaks.

[1] S. Ikegaya, Y. Asano, and D. Manske, Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 207002 (2019)
[2] S. Ikegaya, S. Tamura, D. Manske, and Y. Tanaka, arXiv: 2007.12888 (2020)

Yukio Tanaka

It is known that odd-frequency pairing ubiquitously presents in superconductor junctions [1]. Especially, in the presence of zero energy surface Andreev bound state (ZESABS) realized in topological superconductors, the odd-frequency pairing is amplified near the surface or interface. One of the remarkable property generated by odd-frequency pairing is anomalous proximity effect in diffusive normal metal (DN) / superconductor junction where quasiparticle density of states in DN has a zero energy peak (ZEP) of LDOS due to the penetration of odd-frequency spin-triplet s-wave pairing [2,3]. It has been shown that proximity coupled nano-wire junction [4] is an idealistic system to study anomalous proximity effect due to odd-frequency triplet-s wave pairing [5].
We have further clarified the relation between induced odd-frequency pairing and the bulk quantity defined by Green’s function[6]. Odd-frequency Cooper pairs with chiral symmetry emerging at the edges are a useful physical quantity. We have shown that the odd-frequency Cooper pair amplitudes can be expressed by a winding number extended to a nonzero frequency and can be evaluated from the spectral features of the bulk. We have found that the odd-frequency Cooper pair amplitudes are classified into two categories: the amplitudes in the first category have the singular functional form proportional to 1/z (where z is a complex frequency) that reflects the presence of ZESABS, whereas the amplitudes in the second category have the regular form proportional to z.
Recently, we have found that the presence of ZESABS generates new type of thermopower.
We have shown that the thermoelectric effect in ferromagnet / superconductor junctions can be entirely dominated by ingap Andreev reflection processes. Consequently, the electric current from a temperature bias changes sign in the presence of ZESABS and resulting odd-frequency pairing [7].

[1]Y. Tanaka, M. Sato and N. Nagaosa, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 81 011013 (2012)
[2]Y. Tanaka and A.A. Golubov, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98 037003 (2007)
[3]Y. Tanaka, A.A. Golubov, S. Kashiwaya, and M. Ueda, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99 037005 (2007); Y. Tanaka, Y. Tanuma, and A. A. Golubov, Phys. Rev. B 96 054552 (2007)
[4]Y. Tanaka and S. Kashiwaya, Phys. Rev. B 70 012507 (2004)
[5]R. M. Lutchyn, J. D. Sau, and S. Das Sarma, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 077001 (2010), Y. Oreg, G. Refael, and F. von Oppen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 177002 (2010)
[6]Y. Asano and Y. Tanaka, Phys. Rev. B 87 104513 (2013)
[7]S. Ta mura, S. Hoshino and Y. Tanaka, Phys. Rev. B 99 , 184512 (2019)
[8]T. Savander , S. Tamura, C. Flindt, Y. Tanaka and P. Burset , arXiv: 2008.00849

Javier Villegas

Following earlier work in which we demonstrated the Klein-like tunneling of d-wave superconducting paints intro graphene [1], here we present experiments that show the longrange preparation of d-wave correlations in that material. For this, we fabricated devices that behave as a proximitized Fabry-Pérot cavitiy, where d-wave Andreev pairs interferences are produced. The interferences manifest themselves in series of pronounced conductance oscillations analogous to those produced by De Gennes-Saint James resonances in conventional superconductor/metal junctions. Their observation imply that the d-wave Andreev pairs propagate over distances of a few hundred nm in the CVD graphene used for the experiments [2]. We will end up by discussing ongoing experiments in applied magnetic field, which also produces an intriguing series of conductance oscillations in the superconducting state of the junctions.

[1] D. Perconte, F. A. Cuellar, C. Moreau-luchaire, M. Piquemal-Banci, R. Galceran, P. R. Kidambi, M.-B. Martin, S. Hofmann, R. Bernard, B. Dlubak, P. Seneor, and J. E. Villegas, Nat. Phys. 14, 25 (2018)
[2] D. Perconte, K. Seurre, V. Humbert, C. Ulysse, A. Sander, J. Trastoy, V. Zatko, F. Godel, P. R. Kidambi, S. Hofmann, X. P. Zhang, D. Bercioux, F. S. Bergeret, B. Dlubak, P. Seneor, and J. E. Villegas, Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 87002 (2020)

Amilcar Bedoya-Pinto

Long before the recent fascination with two-dimensional materials, the critical behaviour and universality scaling of phase transitions in low-dimensional systems has been a topic of great interest. Recent experiments on layered magnetic systems show that a sizable out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy is able to stabilize 2D long-range ferromagnetic order, as demonstrated in CrI3, CrBr3, Fe3GeTe2 and Cr2Ge2Te6 [1], while a spontaneous magnetic ordering has remained elusive for an in-plane 2D magnetic system in the monolayer limit. Here, we construct a nearly ideal easy-plane system, a CrCl3 monolayer grown on Graphene/6H-SiC (0001), which exhibits ferromagnetic ordering as unambiguously determined by element-specific X-ray magnetic dichroism [2]. Hysteretic behaviour of the field-dependent magnetization is sustained up to a temperature of 10 K, and angular dependent measurements evidence a clear in-plane easy axis, unlike all other van der Waals monolayer magnets reported to date. The origin of the easy-plane anisotropy is discussed in terms of a non-zero orbital moment and a trigonal distortion of the CrCl3 unit cell. Moreover, the analysis of the critical exponents of the temperature-dependent magnetization show a scaling behaviour that is characteristic of a 2D-XY system. These observations suggest the first realization of a finite-size Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) phase transition in a quasi-freestanding monolayer magnet with a XY universality class; accessible through the bottom-up growth of a van der Waals layer with an in-plane hexagonal crystal symmetry and negligible substrate interaction.

Figure 1. (a) Schematic crystal structure of CrCl3/Graphene/6H-SiC layers in top view and cross-section configurations. (b) Atom resolved image of the CrCl3 lattice featuring a moiré pattern, which corresponds to a 23.8° rotation between the hexagonal unit cell of CrCl3 and graphene.(c) XMCD hysteresis loops taken in grazing (in-plane) and normal (out-of-plane) incidence, evidencing a weak anisotropy favouring an in-plane easy axis. (d) Modified Arrott-Plots for the temperature-and field dependent XMCD data. A consistent set of critical exponents is inferred (β=0.235, γ= 2.2), matching with the predictions of the 2DXY model.

References
[1] K. S. Burch, D. Mandrus, J. G. Park, Nature. 563, 47–52 (2018)
[2] A. Bedoya-Pinto et al., arXiV https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.07605 (2020)

On-line SPICE-SPIN+X Seminars

On-line Seminar: 8 July 2020 - 15:00 (CET)

Towards deep neural networks with nanoscale spintronic oscillators as neurons

Julie Grollier, CNRS-Thales

Spintronic oscillators are nanoscale devices realized with magnetic tunnel junctions which have the potential to be integrated by hundreds of millions in electronic chips. Their non-linear dynamical properties are rich and tunable, and can be leveraged to imitate different features of biological neurons. High performance pattern recognition was achieved through the coupled dynamics of the oscillators in small circuits. The transient dynamics of a single spintronic nano-oscillator has been used to implement reservoir computing, achieving state-of-the-art results on a simple spoken digit recognition task [1], [2]. Four spintronic nano-oscillators have been trained to classify spoken vowels by phase locking their oscillations to the strong input signals produced by external microwave sources [3]. Three spintronic nano-oscillators did bind temporal data through their mutual synchronization [4].

These demonstrations now need to be scaled to deep networks to establish their potential definitely. The neocortex, the seat of higher cognitive functions in the brain, has a hierarchical structure of six layers of neurons. Adopting such a layered structure in artificial neural networks was the key to their fantastic progress in the last ten years. Neuromorphic systems need to be scalable to deep networks to truly establish their promises.

PDF file of the talk available here

A key asset of spintronic nano-oscillators towards this goal is their ability to emit radio-frequency (RF) signals. These oscillators indeed produce microwave voltages with varying amplitude and frequency in response to direct current inputs. They could therefore potentially communicate through radio-frequencies signals, allowing fully parallel operation with minimized wiring, at a speed seven orders of magnitude faster than the brain. But for this, it is necessary to devise radio-frequency synapses that can interconnect the oscillators.

In this talk, I will rapidly review recent results on neuromorphic computing with spintronic nano-oscillators. I will then describe how they can be interconnected layer-wise through RF spintronic nano-synapses, and present our recent simulation results of classification with these novel RF synapses.

[1]  J. Torrejon et al., « Neuromorphic computing with nanoscale spintronic oscillators », Nature, 547,  428‑431 (2017).
[2]   S. Tsunegi et al., « Physical reservoir computing based on spin torque oscillator with forced synchronization », Appl. Phys. Lett., 114,  164101 (2019).
[3]   M. Romera et al., « Vowel recognition with four coupled spin-torque nano-oscillators », Nature, 563, 230,(2018).
[4]   M. Romera et al., « Binding events through the mutual synchronization of spintronic nano-neurons », arXiv:2001.08044 (2020).

On-line SPICE-SPIN+X Seminars

On-line Seminar: 1 July 2020 - 15:00 (CET)

Magnons as Probes of Strongly Correlated Electron Physics

Amir Yacoby, Harvard University

Scattering experiments have revolutionized our understanding of nature. Examples include the discovery of the nucleus, crystallography, and the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA. Scattering techniques differ by the type of the particles used, the interaction these particles have with target materials and the range of wavelengths used. Here, we demonstrate a new 2-dimensional table-top scattering platform for exploring magnetic properties of materials on mesoscopic length scales. Long lived, coherent magnonic excitations are generated in a thin film of YIG and scattered off a magnetic target deposited on its surface. The scattered waves are then recorded using a scanning NV center magnetometer that allows sub-wavelength imaging and operation under conditions ranging from cryogenic to ambient environment. While most scattering platforms measure only the intensity of the scattered waves, our imaging method allows for spatial determination of both amplitude and phase of the scattered waves thereby allowing for a systematic reconstruction of the target scattering potential. Our experimental results are consistent with theoretical predictions for such a geometry and reveal several unusual features of the magnetic response of the target, including suppression near the target edges and gradient in the direction perpendicular to the direction of surface wave propagation. Our results establish magnon scattering experiments as a new platform for studying correlated many-body systems.

PDF file of the talk available here