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

 

On-line SPICE-SPIN+X Seminars

On-line Seminar: 24 June 2020 - 15:00 (CET)

Chiral spintronics: non collinear spin textures with application to Racetrack Memory

Stuart Parkin, Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics and
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle

Magnetic non-collinear spin textures that have chiral structures are of great current interest.  Coupled chiral domain walls in synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) racetracks and compensated ferrimagnets can be moved with current at very high speeds via a novel giant exchange torque^1,2. When the antiferromagnetic coupling between two domain walls in a SAF racetrack is weakened unusual magnetization dynamics takes place due to chiral domain wall drag³. The same type of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DMI) vector exchange interactions that stabilize chiral Néel domain walls in magnetic multilayers results in the formation of topological spin textures in bulk compounds. We recently discovered magnetic antiskyrmions in a tetragonal inverse Heusler compound Mn_1.4Pt_0.9Pd_0.1Sn using Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM) ⁴. The size of the anti-skyrmion can be tuned by varying the thickness of the host material allowing for sizes varying from nanometer to microns in the same material⁵.  This is due to long range magneto-dipole interactions that are important in this compound that has a complex DMI interaction with a symmetry that follows the D_2d symmetry of its crystalline structure. The same symmetry ensures that anti-skyrmions are robust to temperature and magnetic field⁶. The magnetic dipole-dipole interactions also allow for the formation of metastable “elliptical skyrmions” in this same material⁷.  These have Bloch-like boundaries that we can directly observe using LTEM. Finally, we discuss our recent discovery of novel Néel like skyrmions in a metallic compound that exist almost to room temperature and that are also tunable in size⁸.  Chiral spin textures in ferro-, ferri- and anti-ferrimagnetic materials and thin film heterostructures are of fundamental interest with potential for spintronic applications.

PDF file of the talk available here

 

References

1  Yang, S.-H., Ryu, K.-S. & Parkin, S. S. P. Domain-wall velocities of up to 750 ms⁻¹ driven by exchange-coupling torque in synthetic antiferromagnets. Nat. Nano. 10, 221-226, (2015).
2  Bläsing, R. et al. Exchange coupling torque in ferrimagnetic Co/Gd bilayer maximized near angular momentum compensation temperature. Nat. Commun. 9, 4984, (2018).
3  Yang, S.-H., Garg, C. & Parkin, S. Chiral Exchange Drag and Chirality Oscillations in Synthetic Antiferromagnets Nat. Phys. 15, 543–548, (2019).
4  Nayak, A. K. et al. Magnetic antiskyrmions above room temperature in tetragonal Heusler materials. Nature 548, 561-566, (2017).
5  Ma, T. et al. Tunable Magnetic Antiskyrmion Size and Helical Period from Nanometers to Micrometers in a D_2d Heusler Compound. Adv. Mater., 2002043, (2020).
6  Saha, R. et al. Intrinsic stability of magnetic anti-skyrmions in the tetragonal inverse Heusler compound Mn_1.4Pt_0.9Pd_0.1Sn Nat. Commun. 10, 5305, (2019).
7  Jena, J. et al. Elliptical Bloch skyrmion chiral twins in an antiskyrmion system. Nat. Commun. 11, 1115, (2020).
8  Srivastava, A. K. et al. Observation of Robust Néel Skyrmions in Metallic PtMnGa. Adv. Mater. 32, 1904327, (2020).

On-line SPICE-SPIN+X Seminars

On-line Seminar: 17 June 2020 - 15:00 (CET)

Coherent Sub-Terahertz Spin Pumping from an Insulating Antiferromagnet

Enrique del Barco, University of Central Florida

Emerging phenomena, such as the spin-Hall effect (SHE), spin pumping, and spin-transfer torque (STT), allow for interconversion between charge and spin currents and the generation of magnetization dynamics that could potentially lead to faster, denser, and more energy efficient, non-volatile memory and logic devices. Present STT-based devices rely on ferromagnetic (FM) materials as their active constituents. However, the flexibility offered by the intrinsic net magnetization and anisotropy for detecting and manipulating the magnetic state of ferromagnets also translates into limitations in terms of density (neighboring elements can couple through stray fields), speed (frequencies are limited to the GHz range), and frequency tunability (external magnetic fields needed). A new direction in the field of spintronics is to employ antiferromagnetic (AF) materials. In contrast to ferromagnets, where magnetic anisotropy dominates spin dynamics, in antiferromagnets spin dynamics are governed by the interatomic exchange interaction energies, which are orders of magnitude larger than the magnetic anisotropy energy, leading to the potential for ultrafast information processing and communication in the THz frequency range, with broadband frequency tunability without the need of external magnetic fields.

PDF file of the talk available here

I will present evidence of sub-terahertz coherent spin pumping at the interface of a uniaxial insulating antiferromagnet MnF2 and platinum thin films, measured by the ISHE voltage signal arising from spin-charge conversion in the platinum layer. The ISHE signal depends on the chirality of the dynamical modes of the antiferromagnet, which is selectively excited and modulated by the handedness of the circularly polarized sub-THz irradiation (see figure). Contrary to the case of ferromagnets, antiferromagnetic spin pumping exhibits a sign dependence on the chirality of dynamical modes, allowing for the unambiguous distinction between coherent spin pumping and the thermally-driven, chirality-independent spin Seebeck effect. Our results open the door to the controlled generation of coherent pure spin currents with antiferromagnets at unprecedented high frequencies.

This work has been primarily supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Grant FA9550-19-1-0307.

References

• Priyanka Vaidya, Sophie A. Morley, Johan van Tol, Yan Liu, Ran Cheng, Arne Brataas, David Lederman, and Enrique del Barco, Subterahertz spin pumping from an insulating antiferromagnet, Science 368, 160-165 (2020)

 

 

On-line SPICE-SPIN+X Seminars

On-line Seminar: 10 June 2020 - 15:00 (CET)

Magnetic tunnel junctions and magnetic logic circuits driven by spin-orbit torques

Pietro Gambardella,

Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Current-induced spin-orbit torques (SOTs) enable the switching of magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) in nonvolatile magnetic random access memories as well as the all-electrical operation of magnetic logic circuits based on domain wall manipulation. In this talk, I will present time-resolved measurements of magnetization reversal driven by SOTs in 3-terminal MTJ devices and discuss how the combination of SOT, spin transfer torque, and voltage control of magnetic anisotropy leads to reproducible sub-ns magnetization reversal with a very narrow spread of the switching time distributions [1]. Further, I will show how SOTs and the chiral coupling between neighbouring magnetic domains induced by the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction [2] allow for realizing an electrically-driven domain-wall inverter. Starting from this basic building block, it is possible to fabricate reconfigurable NAND and NOR logic gates, and therefore a complete family of logic gates, which perform operations with current-induced domain-wall motion [3]. Opportunities for scalable all-electric magnetic memories and memory-in-logic applications will be discussed.

PDF file of the talk available here

References

• [1] Single-shot dynamics of spin-orbit torque and spin transfer torque switching in 3-terminal magnetic tunnel junctions, E. Grimaldi, V. Krizakova, G. Sala, F. Yasin, S. Couet, G. S. Kar, K. Garello and P Gambardella, Nat. Nanotech. 15, 111 (2020).
• [2] Chirally Coupled Nanomagnets, Z. Luo, T. Phuong Dao, A. Hrabec, J. Vijayakumar, A. Kleibert, M. Baumgartner, E. Kirk, J. Cui, T. Savchenko, G. Krishnaswamy, L. J. Heyderman, and P. Gambardella, Science 363, 1435 (2019).
• [3] Current-driven magnetic domain-wall logic, Z. Luo, A. Hrabec, T. P. Dao, G. Sala, S. Finizio, J. Feng, S. Mayr, J. Raabe, P. Gambardella, L. J. Heyderman, Nature 579, 214 (2020).

Figure 1. a, Scanning electron microscope image of a 3-terminal magnetic tunnel junction device with injection electrodes for spin-orbit torque (SOT) and spin transfer torque (STT) switching. b, Detail of the magnetic tunnel junction pillar and W current line. c, Electrical setup for the time-resolved measurements of the tunneling magnetoresistance during SOT and/or STT switching. d, Examples of ten different single-shot switching events induced by spin-orbit torques. Adapted from [1].

 

On-line SPICE-SPIN+X Seminars

On-line Seminar: 3 June 2020 - 15:00 (CET)

Probing ultrafast spin transport with terahertz electromagnetic pulses

Tobias Kampfrath, Freie Unversität Berlin and Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, Berlin

Transport of spins is often driven by heat gradients and electric fields. To probe the initial elementary steps which lead to the formation of spin currents, we need to launch and measure transport on femtosecond time scales. This goal is achieved by employing both ultrashort optical and terahertz electromagnetic pulses. We illustrate our experimental approach by several examples including the spin Seebeck effect (see figure) and anisotropic magnetoresistance.

 

References

• [1] Seifert et al., Nature Comm. 9, Article number: 2899 (2018)
• [2] Seifert et al., J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 51, 364003 (2018)

PDF file of the talk available here

On-line SPICE-SPIN+X Seminars

On-line Seminar: 27.05.2020 - 15:00 (CET)

Half-integer charge transfer by Majorana edge modes

Carlo Beenakker, Leiden University

A Josephson junction in a chiral p-wave superconductor can inject a charge e/2 into a normal-metal contact, carried by chiral Majorana edge modes. We address the question whether this half-integer charge is a sharp observable, without quantum fluctuations. Because the Majorana modes are gapless, they support charge fluctuations in equilibrium at zero temperature. But we find that the excess noise introduced out of equilibrium by the e/2 charge transfer vanishes. We discuss a strategy to reduce the equilibrium fluctuations, by means of a heavy-tailed time-dependent detection efficiency, to achieve a fully noiseless half-integer charge transfer.

 

 

PDF file of the talk available here

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