Strong alternating magnetic fields can be used to generate a new type of spin wave that was previously just theoretically predicted. This was achieved for the first time by a team of physicists from (MLU). They report on their work in the scientific journal Nature Communications and provide the first microscopic images of these spin waves.

The basic idea of spintronics is to use a special property of electrons - spin - for various electronic applications such as data and information technology. The Spin is the intrinsic angular momentum of electrons that produces a magnetic moment. Coupling these magnetic moments creates the magnetism that could ultimately be used in information processing. When these coupled magnetic moments are locally excited by a magnetic field pulse, this dynamic can spread like waves throughout the material. These are referred to as spin waves or magnons.

A special type of those waves is at the heart of the work of the physicists from Halle. Normally, the non-linear excitation of magnons produces integers of the output frequency - 1,000 megahertz becomes 2,000 or 3,000, for example.

"So far, it was only theoretically predicted that non-linear processes can generate spin waves at higher half-integer multiples of the excitation frequency ," explains Professor Georg Woltersdorf from the Institute of Physics at MLU. The team has now been able to show experimentally which conditions are needed in order to generate these waves and to control their phase. Phase is the state of the oscillation of a wave at a certain point and time. "We are the first to to confirm these excitations in experiments and have even been able to map them," says Woltersdorf.

According to the physicist, the waves can be generated in two stable phase states which means this discovery could potentially be used in data processing applications, since computers, for example, also use a binary system.

The study was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG).

Research Report:Imaging and phase-locking of non-linear spin waves

Related Links
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
Nano Technology News From SpaceMart.com
Computer Chip Architecture, Technology and Manufacture

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

'Naturally insulating' material emits pulses of superfluorescent light at room temperature
Raleigh NC (SPX) Sep 06, 2022
Researchers looking to synthesize a brighter and more stable nanoparticle for optical applications found that their creation instead exhibited a more surprising property: bursts of superfluorescence that occurred at both room temperature and regular intervals. The work could lead to the development of faster microchips, neurosensors, or materials for use in quantum computing applications, as well as a number of biological studies. Superfluorescence occurs when atoms within a material synchronize a ... read more