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Browsing by Subject "Ferromagnetism"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Asymptotic models in magnetostriction with application to design of sensors.
    (2012-04) Krishnan, Shankar Narayan
    Magnetostrictive wires of diameter in the nanometer scale have been proposed for application as acoustic sensors [Downey et al., 2008], [Yang et al., 2006]. The sensing mechanism is expected to operate in the bending regime. In the first part of this work, we derive a variational theory for the bending of magnetostrictive nanowires starting from a full 3-dimensional continuum theory of magnetostriction. We recover a theory which looks like a typical Euler-Bernoulli bending model but includes an extra term contributed by the magnetic part of the energy. The solution of this variational theory for an important, newly developed magnetostricitve alloy called Galfenol ¡ cf. [Clark et al., 2000] ¢ is compared with the result of experiments on actual nanowires ¡ cf. [Downey, 2008] ¢ which shows agreement. In the next part of this thesis, Multilayered wires of diameter in the nanometer scale with periodic layering of non-magnetic copper and ferromagnetic galfenol segments are studied. The numerical computation of the physics of magnetization for such geometries is very costly computationally. We use the theory of periodic homogenization to understand the overall behavior of such structures. We first determine a “homogenized theory” after which this “homogenized model” is used to study the nucleation and stability of staturated states. Thus we get a broad generalization of what is known in the magnetic literature as the “fanning model” first introduced in [Jacobs and Bean, 1955] for a chain of spheres geometry. Some further numerical work on computing M vs H curves for such geometries is also presented.
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    High Anisotropy Magnetic Materials for Data Storage and Spintronic Memory
    (2018-01) Quarterman, Patrick
    Data storage technologies that utilize magnetic materials for storage are key for both increasing areal density of storage in traditional hard disk media and providing low energy alternatives to traditional CMOS technology through spintronic memory and logic devices. Spintronic memory relies on the spin of an electron rather than charge and is a promising candidate for achieving non-volatility which can provide dramatic energy savings. A key challenge for magnetic based storage is achieving 10 nm or smaller feature sizes while retaining thermal stability. This requires development of magnetic thin films with large magnetocrystalline anisotropy. Switching the magnetization of high anisotropy magnetic materials requires large Oersted field or spin current. One way to decrease the switching energy is to lower the anisotropy during the switching process with an applied strain or heat. This scheme retains thermal stability during storage and makes write energies feasible from a technological aspect. Development of suitable high anisotropy materials at sub 10 nm scale has proved difficult due to limitations on traditional thin film growth methods, nanoscale effects, and additional requirements on materials for memory applications. The effect of a static strain on the magnetic anisotropy is well understood, but less so for application in devices which require fast switching and high cycling. The other approach to lowering switching energies is to use magnetic materials with small magnetization, such as Mn-based compounds. I will discuss my experiments to advance understanding of: development of FePt for HAMR media, effect of strain assisted switching on the spin state of FePt, and development of novel high anisotropy Mn-based materials with low magnetization. Finally, I will present my experimental realization of Ru as the 4th room temperature ferromagnetic element. Ru has been predicted to become ferromagnetic when placed into a metastable tetragonal or cubic phase. This new phase of Ru also has potential to achieve the requirements for a viable spintronic device. I will show my work on the realization of the tetragonal phase Ru using seed layer engineering in thin films, and its associated ferromagnetic properties.
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    Non-Equilibrium Two-State Switching in Mesoscale, Ferromagnetic Particles
    (2019-07) Delles, James
    There has been much theoretical study attempting to expand upon the Arrhenius law, $f=f_o exp(U/kT)$, which describes the switching rate in thermally activated, two-state systems, but few experiments to verify it. This is especially true for ferromagnetic particles. Most of the previous experiments performed attempting to study the Arrhenius law focus on the effect the Boltzmann factor, exp(U/kT), has on the switching rate since it dominates any measurement due to its exponential dependence on temperature. This has made it difficult to probe the underlying physics of the prefactor in front of the exponential. Using square, ferromagnetic particles of sizes 250 nm x 250 nm x 10 nm and 210 nm x 210 nm x 10 nm, controlling the barrier height using an applied field, and measuring the average dwell times in each individual state has allowed us to focus on these prefactors. Our measured prefactors vary by twenty five orders of magnitude, and they are smaller than those predicted by previous theories for particles of this size. They become so small as to reach unphysically short timescales. We attribute these unexpectedly small prefactors to our magnetic particles being multidomain and undergoing transitions before the particles have time to reach thermal equilibrium. We show that our particles have a higher probability of transitioning the less time they have been in a state which we attribute to the magnetization spending most of its time near the barrier allowing faster transitions.
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    Transport in Superconducting/Ferromagnetic Heterostructures
    (2019-07) Moen, Evan
    In this thesis I present my research on spin and charge transport in ferromagnet, superconductor (F=S) heterostructures using a self-consistent, clean limit theory. The goal is to characterize realistic samples. The primary focus is on the F1=N=F2=S superconducting spin valve. I also consider the S1=F1=N=F2=S2 ferromagnetic Josephson structures. We solve the Bogoliubov deGennes equations (BdG) using a self-consistent, numerical approach and determine the thermodynamic quantities such as the pair potential. For the charge transport, we use the Blonder-Tinhkam-Kapwijk (BTK) method to determine the conductance G. We study the conductance features and their dependence on the physical parameters such as the layer thicknesses and interfacial quality of the sample. The main results are the dependence of G on the misalignment angle of the magnetizations in F2 relative to F1, which constitutes a 'valve eect'. The valve eect in F=S structures is due to the proximity eect, which is angularly dependent. The critical bias (CB), equal to the gap energy, is non-monotonic with due to this proximity eect. The conductance features are split for incoming spin-up and spin-down electrons, which leads to a subgap (below CB) peak in the total conductance. This subgap peak is dependent on the intermediate F2 layer thickness and ferromagnetic exchange eld h in which the peak position oscillates between zero bias and the CB with a periodicity of =h. These subgap peaks are resistant to high interfacial barriers and lead to a monotonic angular dependence on in the peak maxima. In the S1=F1=N=F2=S2 quasiparticle conductance, there are multiple subgap peaks with similar oscillations in the peak positions. In addition, the conductance peak position oscillates with by a quarter phase between the parallel and antiparallel conguration. We also study the spin transport in the F1=N=F2=S system for realistic parameters. The spin transport quantities are not conserved due to the spin transfer torque (STT) within the ferromagnetic layers, and are spatially dependent. There exists a critical bias feature in which no spin current penetrates the S layer for biases below the CB, and the STT becomes quasilinear for biases above the critical bias.