Experimental Evidence of Non-Negligible Imaginary Part of Spin Mixing Conductance and Its Impact on Magnetization Dynamics in Heavy-Metal|Ferromagnet Bilayers

TL;DR

This study experimentally verifies that the imaginary part of spin mixing conductance in heavy-metal|ferromagnet bilayers is significant and influences magnetization dynamics, with implications for magnetic memory device design.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental evidence that the imaginary component of spin mixing conductance is non-negligible and impacts magnetization behavior.

Findings

Imaginary part of spin mixing conductance is significant in heavy-metal|ferromagnet bilayers.

The ratio of real to imaginary parts is approximately 0.38 in Finemet|Ta bilayers.

The imaginary component influences the torque and damping in magnetization dynamics.

Abstract

The paper concerns experimental verification of the magnitude of imaginary part of spin mixing conductance in bilayers comprising heavy metals. We present results of broadband ferromagnetic resonance studies on heterostructures consisting of Finemet thin films covered by Pt and Ta wedge layers with the aim to observe spin pumping effects and to evaluate both the real and imaginary parts of the spin mixing conductance. The experimental results are analyzed in the framework of a recent microscopic theory which allows us to estimate the value of the interfacial spin-orbit interaction and confirm its important role. In particular, we show that the imaginary part of spin mixing conductance cannot be regarded as negligible and we discuss its influence on magnetization dynamics. For Finemet|Ta bilayers, the ratio $\mathrm{Re}[g_{eff}^{\uparrow\downarrow}]/\mathrm{Im}[g_{eff}^{\uparrow\downarrow}]=$ 0.38, that is, the field-like torque dominates over the damping-like torque in such system. Consequently, relatively small enhancement of precession damping with respect to significant total torque exerted on the magnetization in Finemet|Ta system offers an attractive perspective for an application in the next-generation magnetic random-access memory cells.