Experimental evidence of tunable nonlinearity in He+ irradiated spin-torque oscillators

• Spin-torque nano-oscillators (STNOs) are among the most promising candidates for nanoscale broadband microwave generators. Before this application can be realized, however, enormous efforts are required of researchers to meet the commercial requirements of high-frequency tunability, high power, and narrow linewidth. As the performance of STNOs is mainly attributed to the nonlinearity on the basis of nonlinear auto-oscillator theory, we here systematically study how this nonlinearity is affected by the free-layer's effective magnetization Meff (i.e., the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, PMA) in STNOs. The PMA is gradually tuned by using different fluences of He+ irradiation. Consequently, the nonlinearity can be continuously tailored from positive to negative. In addition, due to the almost zero nonlinearity, the linewidth shows an improvement of more than two orders of magnitude. This experimental observation is in strong agreement with the theory of nonlinear auto-oscillators. Our study not only confirms the theoretical prediction of nonlinearity, but also indicates the route to be taken towards realizing commercial microwave generators.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Den kondenserade materiens fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Condensed Matter Physics (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Physics

Fysik

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vet (ämneskategori)

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