Nanoscale, low-phase-noise, tunable transmitter-receiver links are key for enabling the progress of wireless communication. We demonstrate that vortex-based spin-torque nano-oscillators, which are intrinsically low-noise devices because of their topologically protected magnetic structure, can achieve frequency tunability when submitted to local ion implantation. In the experiments presented here, the gyrotropic mode is excited with spin-polarized alternating currents and anisotropic magnetoresistance measurements yield discrete frequencies from a single device. Indeed, chromium-implanted regions of permalloy disks exhibit different saturation magnetization than neighboring, non-irradiated areas, and thus different resonance frequency, corresponding to the specific area where the core is gyrating. Our study proves that such devices can be fabricated without the need for further lithographical steps, suggesting ion irradiation can be a viable and cost-effective fabrication method for densely packed networks of oscillators.
Keywords: electrical detection; frequency tunability; ion implantation; reduced saturation magnetization; vortex dynamics.