Thermally driven magnetic precession in spin valves

David Luc and Xavier Waintal
Phys. Rev. B 90, 144430 – Published 24 October 2014

Abstract

We investigate the angular dependence of the spin torque generated when applying a temperature difference across a spin valve. Our study shows the presence of a nontrivial fixed point in this angular dependence. This fixed point opens the possibility for a temperature gradient to stabilize radio frequency oscillations without the need for an external magnetic field. This so-called “wavy” behavior can already be found upon applying a voltage difference across a spin valve but we find that this effect is much more pronounced with a temperature difference. We find that a spin asymmetry of the Seebeck coefficient of the order of 20μVK1 should be large enough for a temperature gradient of a few degrees to trigger the radio-frequency oscillations. Our semiclassical theory is fully parametrized with experimentally measured(able) parameters and allows one to quantitatively predict the amplitude of the torque.

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  • Received 20 February 2014
  • Revised 22 September 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.90.144430

©2014 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

David Luc and Xavier Waintal

  • CEA-INAC/UJF Grenoble 1, SPSMS UMR-E 9001, Grenoble F-38054, France

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Issue

Vol. 90, Iss. 14 — 1 October 2014

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