Magnonic Proximity Effect in Insulating Ferro- and Antiferromagnetic Trilayers

TL;DR

This paper investigates the magnetic proximity effect in multilayer ferro- and antiferromagnetic structures, revealing how magnetic order and magnon spectra are influenced across interfaces, which is crucial for spin-transport device design.

Contribution

It introduces an atomistic spin model study of magnetic proximity effects in trilayers, highlighting order enhancement and spectral modifications in layered magnetic systems.

Findings

Magnetic order in the central layer is enhanced due to proximity effects.

Magnon spectra are significantly altered at interfaces, especially in antiferromagnets.

Proximity effects occur even when different magnetic orders are present in adjacent layers.

Abstract

The design of spin-transport based devices such as magnon transistors or spin valves will require multilayer systems composed of different magnetic materials with different physical properties. Such layered structures can show various interface effects, one class of which being proximity effects, where a certain physical phenomenon that occurs in the one layers leaks into another one. In this work a magnetic proximity effect is studied in trilayers of different ferro- and antiferromagnetic materials within an atomistic spin model. We find the magnetic order in the central layer - with lower critical temperature - enhanced, even for the case of an antiferromagnet surrounded by ferromagnets. We further characterize this proximity effect via the magnon spectra which are specifically altered, especially for the case of the antiferromagnet in the central layer.