Time resolved imaging of the non-linear bullet mode within an injection-locked nano-contact spin Hall nano-oscillator

TL;DR

This study uses time-resolved imaging to observe the non-linear bullet mode in an injection-locked nano-contact spin Hall nano-oscillator, revealing mode dynamics and implications for device locking behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a method to visualize non-linear modes in SHNOs and analyzes their behavior under different current conditions, highlighting the importance of device geometry for locking.

Findings

Detection of a non-linear bullet mode at device center

Observation of mode size increase with higher DC current

Identification of factors affecting injection locking range

Abstract

Injection of a radio frequency (RF) current was used to phase lock the SHNO to the TRSKM. The out of plane magnetization was detected by means of the polar magneto optical Kerr effect (MOKE). However, longitudinal MOKE images were dominated by an artifact arising from the edges of the Au NCs. Time resolved imaging revealed the simultaneous excitation of a non-linear `bullet' mode at the centre of the device, once the DC current exceeded a threshold value, and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) induced by the RF current. However, the FMR response observed for sub-critical DC current values exhibits an amplitude minimum at the centre, which is attributed to spreading of the RF spin current due to the reactance of the device structure. This FMR response can be subtracted to yield images of the bullet mode. As the DC current is increased above threshold, the bullet mode appears to increase in size, suggesting increased translational motion. The reduced spatial overlap of the bullet and FMR modes, and this putative translational motion, may impede the injection locking and contribute to the reduced locking range observed within NC-SHNO devices. This illustrates a more general need to control the geometry of an injection-locked oscillator so that the autonomous dynamics of the oscillator exhibit strong spatial overlap with those resulting from the injected signal.