Romain Lebrun

Coupled vortex dynamics in spin-torque oscillators : from resonant excitation to mutual synchronization: La découverte de la magnétorésistance géante en 1988 est considérée comme la date de naissance d’un nouveau et dynamique champ de recherche appelé l’électronique de spin. La riche physique associée au transport de spin devrait révolutionner le futur de la nanoélectronique. Dans ce cadre les nano-oscillateurs à transfert de spin (STOs) se sont positionnés comme des candidats sérieux pour le développement d’une nouvelle génération de dispositifs rf basés sur l’électronique de spin.Au début de ma thèse, l’important bruit de phase des STOs restait une contrainte majeure limitant les perspectives technologiques à ce type d’oscillateurs. Dans cette thèse nous avons cherché à contrôler la dynamique des STOs et à réduire leur bruit phase en développant différentes stratégies : (i) l’optimisation des propriétés des matériaux magnétiques utilisés (ii) l’excitation de modes couplés dans des systèmes hybridés (iii) la stabilisation de la dynamique de la phase d’un STO avec un signal extérieur de référence (iv) la synchronisation mutuelle de différents oscillateurs pour améliorer la cohérence spectrale et la puissance des STOs. Nous focalisons en particulier sur le cas de STO à base de vortex magnétique qui présentent intrinsèquement des cohérences spectrales plus élevées que celles d’autres types d’oscillateurs.Dans une première partie, nous nous proposons d’identifier et d’étudier les différents mécanismes qui régissent et contrôle la dynamique d’un STO à base de vortex magnétique dans les régimes auto-oscillant et non-autonomes. Nous mettons tout d’abord en évidence que l’excitation de modes couplés permet de contrôler les propriétés rf d’un oscillateur unique en prenant l’exemple d’un STO à base de deux vortex magnétiques couplés. Par la suite, nous étudions la synchronisation « parfaite » de ces STOs à base de vortex avec un courant rf de référence. Nous corrélons l’observation d’une largeur de raie d’un hertz et d’un bruit de phase minimum de -90 dBc/Hz à 1kHz de la porteuse dans l’état synchronisé à une absence de glissement de phase, i.e. à l’absence de phénomène de désynchronisation. Le fort couple de Field-like planaire mesuré dans ces STOs représente un outil précieux pour contrôler le processus de synchronisation. Dans le cas des STOs à double vortex, un tel contrôle nous permet d’observer des phénomènes physiques exotiques allant de la synchronisation simultanée de plusieurs modes, à de l’auto-synchronisation en passant par des dynamiques de synchronisation incohérentes.Dans une seconde partie, nous proposons différents concepts innovants de dispositifs rf à base de vortex magnétique. Nous présentons tout d’abord les bases d’une boucle à retard de phase permettant d’asservir un STO. En prenant avantage du fort couple de Field Like, nous développons un nouveau schéma de détection rf, plus efficace que les actuelles diodes Schottky, basé sur un renversement d’aimantation en expulsant réversiblement le cœur de vortex à l’aide d’un courant rf. Finalement, nous démontrons qu’il est possible de synchroniser électriquement deux STOs connectés directement en parallèle ou en série, ou à l’aide d’une ligne à retard. Nous montrons ainsi qu’une forte amélioration de la cohérence spectrale (d’un facteur 2) et de la puissance (d’un facteur 4 pour un maximum de 1.6 μW) peut être obtenues dans l’état synchronisé. A l’aide de la ligne à retard, nous mettons par ailleurs en évidence le rôle crucial du déphasage entre les deux STOs sur les propriétés de l’état synchronisé. Ces résultats prometteurs ouvrent la voie vers la synchronisation de réseaux de STOs sans champ appliqué et sans ligne à retard entre les oscillateurs.Dix ans après leur découverte, les oscillateurs à transfert de spin n’ont toujours pas dévoilé tout leur potentiel et de nouvelles applications sont maintenant envisagées, allant de dispositif rf classiques à des circuits logiques et dispositifs bio-inspirés basés sur les STOs.

Three-dimensional topological insulators possess topologically protected surface states with spin-momentum locking, which enable spin-charge-current interconversion (SCI) by the inverse Edelstein effect (IEE). However, it remains experimentally challenging to separate the surface-related IEE from the bulk-type inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE). Here we search for distinct time-domain signatures of the two SCI phenomena in an F /TI model stack of a ferromagnetic-metal layer F ( Co and Fe ) and a topological-insulator (TI) layer ( Bi 2 Te 3 , Sn Bi 2 Te 4 , and Bi 1 − x Sb x with = 0.15 and = 0.3), where the focus is on Bi 2 Te 3 . A femtosecond laser pulse serves to induce a transient spin voltage μ s F in F and, thus, drive an ultrafast spin current out of F . SCI results in a transverse charge current with a sheet density I c that is detected by sampling of the emitted terahertz electric field. Analysis of the dynamics of I c () vs time relative to μ s F ( t ) reveals two components with distinct timescales: (1) a quasi-instantaneous response and (2) a longer-lived response with a relaxation time of 270 fs, which is independent of the F material chosen. Component (1) is consistently ascribed to the ISHE. In contrast, we interpret component (2) as a signature of interfacial spin accumulation and the IEE at the F / Bi 2 Te 3 interface, with a fraction of less than 10 − 2 of the incident spins participating. This assignment is fully consistent with respect to its dynamics and magnitude. We rate other possible signal contributions, such as spin trapping in intermediate states, as less likely. Our results show that the femtosecond dynamics of photocurrents allow us to differentiate the ISHE and the IEE and, more generally, provide important insights into the mechanisms of spin transport and SCI in F /TI stacks.

We investigate spin-rectification phenomena in canted antiferromagnets, closely connected to the family of altermagnetic materials. Our results show that excitation efficiency is significantly enhanced by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. Antiferromagnetic dynamics can be detected through spin-Hall magnetoresistance and bolometric effects, with an efficiency reaching up to mV/W. The rectified voltage is influenced by the symmetry of the exciting torques, detection mechanisms (continuous spin-pumping and spin-Hall magnetoresistance), and the antiferromagnetic crystalline axis. Under high pumping power, we observe a saturation effect related to Suhl-like spin-wave instabilities and a nonlinear redshift of the antiferromagnetic resonance. These findings open new avenues for studying nonlinear dynamics in antiferromagnetic and altermagnetic spintronic devices.

Spintronic terahertz emitters, based on optically triggered spin-to-charge conversion processes, have recently emerged as a novel route toward compact and efficient THz sources. The next challenge for technologically relevant devices, however, remains to modulate the emission with low-energy consumption during operation. In order to achieve this, ferroelectric materials coupled to active spin–orbit layers such as two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides are potential candidates. In this work, we present the realization of a large area heterostructure of CoFeB/PtSe2/MoSe2 on a macroscopically bidomain LiNbO3 substrate. Using THz time-domain spectroscopy, we show that the ferroelectric polarization direction induces a sizable modulation of the THz emission. We rationalize these experimental results by using band structure and spin accumulation calculations that are consistent with an interfacial spin-to-charge conversion mediated by the inverse Rashba–Edelstein effect at the MoSe2/PtSe2 interface and being tuned by ferroelectricity in the adjacent LiNbO3 surface. This work demonstrates the relevance and technological potential of field effect spin–orbit architectures for novel THz technologies.

Spintronic terahertz emitters (STEs), based on optical excitation of nanometer thick ferromagnetic/heavy metal (FM/HM) heterojunctions, have become important sources for the generation of terahertz (THz) pulses. However, the efficiency of the optical‐to‐THz conversion remains limited. Although optical techniques have been developed to enhance the optical absorption, no investigations have studied the application of THz cavities. Here, to enhance the THz efficiency of STEs in a selected THz spectral range, FM/HM structures are realized on ultra‐thin sapphire layers with metallic mirrors to create λ /4 THz resonant cavities. THz emission time domain spectroscopy of these STE/sapphire/mirror heterostructures, with sapphire thicknesses ranging from 110 µm to 25 µm, shows enhancement of the emitted THz field that fits the λ /4 cavity resonance with up to a doubling of the field in the spectrum, and in agreement with temporal simulations of the emitted THz pulse. By taking advantage of birefringent materials, we further show the potential of control of the polarization state of the emitted THz pulse. This work shows the potential of enhancing and engineering THz emission from STEs using THz cavities that can be controlled over a broad spectral range, which can be easily combined with optical cavities.

Magnonic nano-devices exploit magnons - quanta of spin waves - to transmit and process information within a single integrated platform that has the potential to outperform traditional semiconductor-based electronics. The main missing cornerstone of this information nanotechnology is an efficient scheme for the amplification of propagating spin waves. The recent discovery of spin-orbit torque provided an elegant mechanism for propagation losses compensation. While partial compensation of the spin-wave losses has been achieved, true amplification – the exponential increase in the spin-wave intensity during propagation – has so far remained elusive. Here we evidence the operating conditions to achieve unambiguous amplification using clocked nanoseconds-long spin-orbit torque pulses in magnonic nano-waveguides, where the effective magnetization has been engineered to be close to zero to suppress the detrimental magnon scattering. We achieve an exponential increase in the intensity of propagating spin waves up to 500% at a propagation distance of several micrometers.

The emergence of exceptional points (EPs) in the parameter space of a non-hermitian (2D) eigenvalue problem has long been interest in mathematical physics, however, only in the last decade entered the scope of experiments. In coupled systems, EPs give rise to unique physical phenomena, and enable the development of highly sensitive sensors. Here, we demonstrate at room temperature the emergence of EPs in coupled spintronic nanoscale oscillators and exploit the system’s non-hermiticity. We observe amplitude death of self-oscillations and other complex dynamics, and develop a linearized non-hermitian model of the coupled spintronic system, which describes the main experimental features. The room temperature operation, and CMOS compatibility of our spintronic nanoscale oscillators means that they are ready to be employed in a variety of applications, such as field, current or rotation sensors, radiofrequeny and wireless devices, and in dedicated neuromorphic computing hardware. Furthermore, their unique and versatile properties, notably their large nonlinear behavior, open up unprecedented perspectives in experiments as well as in theory on the physics of exceptional points expanding to strongly nonlinear systems.

Spin-waves in antiferromagnets hold the prospects for the development of faster, less power-hungry electronics, as well as promising physics based on spin-superfluids and coherent magnon-condensates. For both these perspectives, addressing electrically coherent antiferromagnetic spin-waves is of importance, a prerequisite that has so far been elusive, because unlike ferromagnets,antiferromagnets couple weakly to radiofrequency fields. Here, we demonstrate the detection of ultra-fast non-reciprocal spin-waves in the dipolar-exchange regime of a canted antiferromagnet using both inductive and spintronic transducers. Using time-of-flight spin-wave spectroscopy on hematite (α-Fe2O3), we find that the magnon wave packets can propagate as fast as 20 km/s for reciprocal bulk spin-wave modes and up to 6 km/s for surface-spin waves propagating parallel to the antiferromagnetic Neel vector. We finally achieve efficient electrical detection of non-reciprocal spin-wave transport using non-local inverse spin-Hall effects. The electrical detection of coherent non-reciprocal antiferromagnetic spin waves paves the way for the development of antiferromagnetic and altermagnet-based magnonic devices.

Spin-waves in antiferromagnets hold the prospects for the development of faster, less power-hungry electronics and promising physics based on spin superfluids and coherent magnon condensates. For both these perspectives, addressing electrically coherent antiferromagnetic spin-waves is of importance, a prerequisite that has been so far elusive, because, unlike ferromagnets, antiferromagnets couple weakly to radiofrequency fields. Here, we demonstrate the detection of ultra-fast nonreciprocal spin-waves in the dipolar exchange regime of a canted antiferromagnet using both inductive and spintronic transducers. Using time-of-flight spin-wave spectroscopy on hematite (α-Fe ₂ O ₃ ), we find that the magnon wave packets can propagate as fast as 20 kilometers/second for reciprocal bulk spin-wave modes and up to 6 kilometers/second for surface spin-waves propagating parallel to the antiferromagnetic Néel vector. We lastly achieve efficient electrical detection of nonreciprocal spin-wave transport using nonlocal inverse spin-Hall effects. The electrical detection of coherent nonreciprocal antiferromagnetic spin-waves paves the way for the development of antiferromagnetic and altermagnet-based magnonic devices.