All-Electrical Measurement of Interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction Using Collective Spin-Wave Dynamics

Nano Lett. 2016 Jan 13;16(1):62-7. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b02732. Epub 2015 Dec 21.

Abstract

Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI), which arises from the broken inversion symmetry and spin-orbit coupling, is of prime interest as it leads to a stabilization of chiral magnetic order and provides an efficient manipulation of magnetic nanostructures. Here, we report all-electrical measurement of DMI using propagating spin wave spectroscopy based on the collective spin wave with a well-defined wave vector. We observe a substantial frequency shift of spin waves depending on the spin chirality in Pt/Co/MgO structures. After subtracting the contribution from other sources to the frequency shift, it is possible to quantify the DMI energy in Pt/Co/MgO systems. The result reveals that the DMI in Pt/Co/MgO originates from the interfaces, and the sign of DMI corresponds to the inversion asymmetry of the film structures. The electrical excitation and detection of spin waves and the influence of interfacial DMI on the collective spin-wave dynamics will pave the way to the emerging field of spin-wave logic devices.

Keywords: Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction; chiral magnet; magnetic thin film; propagating spin wave spectroscopy; spin wave; spintronics.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't