Relaxation-Free and Inertial Switching in Synthetic Antiferromagnets Subject to Super-Resonant Excitation

• Published in: IEEE transactions on magnetics Vol. 53; no. 11; pp. 1 - 5
• Main Authors: Koop, B. C., Descamps, T., Holmgren, E., Korenivski, V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.11.2017; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Antiferromagnetism; Computer memory; Damping; Data storage; Excitation; Ferromagnetism; Magnetic separation; Magnetic switching; Magnetism; Magnetization; Magnetization dynamics; Magnetomechanical effects; Magnons; Memory devices; Stationary state; Switches; Switching; synthetic antiferromagnets; ultrafast switching
• DOI: 10.1109/TMAG.2017.2707589
• ISSN: 0018-9464; 1941-0069

Applications of magnetic memory devices greatly benefit from ultra-fast, low-power switching. In this paper, we propose a method for how this can be achieved efficiently in a nano-sized synthetic antiferromagnet by using perpendicular-to-the-plane picosecond-range magnetic-field pulses. Our detailed micromagnetic simulations, supported by analytical results, yield the parameter space where inertial switching and relaxation-free switching can be achieved in the system. We furthermore discuss the advantages of dynamic switching in synthetic antiferromagnets and, specifically, their relatively low-power switching as compared with that in single ferromagnetic particles. Finally, we show how the excitation of spin waves in the system can be used to significantly reduce the post-switching spin oscillations for practical device geometries.