Spin textures and spin waves as seen by x-ray microscopy
Dr. Sebastian Wintz, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems

Date, Time
19.05, 15:00

The investigation of spin-wave phenomena, also referred to as magnonics, plays an important role in present condensed matter research [1] [Fig. 1]. This holds true, in particular, as spin waves are seen as signal carriers for future spintronic information processing devices, with a high potential to outperform present charge-based technologies in terms of energy efficiency and device miniaturization. Yet a successful implementation of magnonic technology will require the usage and control of spin waves with nanoscale wavelengths.

Here, I will show that ferromagnetic spin textures in metallic systems can be used as nanoscale spin-wave emitters and wave guides. In particular, topological spin vortex cores prove to act as efficient and tunable generators for sub-100 nm waves [2,3] [Fig. 2(a,b)], while domain walls can be utilized as quasi one-dimensional channels for spin-wave propagation and routing [4] [Fig. 2(c)]. The underlying spin dynamic processes were directly imaged by using time-resolved x-ray microscopy.

[1] A. V. Chumak et al., Nat. Phys. 11 453 (2015).
[2] S. Wintz et al., Nat. Nanotech. 11 948 (2016).
[3] G. Dieterle et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 122 117202 (2019).
[4] V. Sluka et al., Nat. Nanotech. 14 328 (2019).