No Arabic abstract
Magnetic analogue of an isolated free electric charge, i.e., a magnet with a single north or south pole, is a long sought-after particle which remains elusive so far. In magnetically frustrated pyrochlore solids, a classical analogue of monopole was observed as a result of excitation of spin ice vertices. Direct visualization of such excitations were proposed and later confirmed in analogous artificial spin ice (ASI) systems of square as well as Kagome geometries. However, such charged vertices are randomly created as they are thermally driven and are always associated with corresponding emergent antimonopoles of equal and opposite charges connected by observable strings. Here, we demonstrate a controlled stabilisation of a robust isolated emergent monopole state in individual square ASI vertices by application of an external magnetic field. The excitation conserves the magnetic charge without the involvement of a corresponding antimonopole. Well supported by Monte Carlo simulations our experimental results enable, in absence of a true elemental magnetic monopole, creation of electron vortices and studying electrodynamics in presence of a monopole field in a solid state environment.
Designing and constructing model systems that embody the statistical mechanics of frustration is now possible using nanotechnology. We have arranged nanomagnets on a two-dimensional square lattice to form an artificial spin ice, and studied its fractional excitations, emergent magnetic monopoles, and how they respond to a driving field using X-ray magnetic microscopy. We observe a regime in which the monopole drift velocity is linear in field above a critical field for the onset of motion. The temperature dependence of the critical field can be described by introducing an interaction term into the Bean-Livingston model of field-assisted barrier hopping. By analogy with electrical charge drift motion, we define and measure a monopole mobility that is larger both for higher temperatures and stronger interactions between nanomagnets. The mobility in this linear regime is described by a creep model of zero-dimensional charges moving within a network of quasi-one-dimensional objects.
Artificial spin ice systems have seen burgeoning interest due to their intriguing physics and potential applications in reprogrammable memory, logic and magnonics. In-depth comparisons of distinct artificial spin systems are crucial to advancing the field and vital work has been done on characteristic behaviours of artificial spin ices arranged on different geometric lattices. Integration of artificial spin ice with functional magnonics is a relatively recent research direction, with a host of promising early results. As the field progresses, studies examining the effects of lattice geometry on the magnonic response are increasingly significant. While studies have investigated the effects of different lattice tilings such as square and kagome (honeycomb), little comparison exists between systems comprising continuously-connected nanostructures, where spin-waves propagate through the system via exchange interaction, and systems with nanobars disconnected at vertices where spin-waves are transferred via stray dipolar-field. Here, we perform a Brillouin light scattering study of the magnonic response in two kagome artificial spin ices, a continuously-connected system and a disconnected system with vertex gaps. We observe distinctly different high-frequency dynamics and characteristic magnetization reversal regimes between the systems, with key distinctions in system microstate during reversal, internal field profiles and spin-wave mode quantization numbers. These observations are pertinent for the fundamental understanding of artificial spin systems and the design and engineering of such systems for functional magnonic applications.
Magnetricity- the magnetic equivalent of electricity- was recently verified experimentally for the first time. Indeed, just as the stream of electric charges produces electric current, emergent magnetic monopoles have been observed to roam freely (generating magnetic current) in geometrically frustrated magnets known as spin ice. However, this is realized only by considering extreme physical conditions as a single crystal of spin ice has to be cooled to a temperature of $0.36 K$. Candidates to overcome this difficulty are artificial analogues of spin ice crystals, the so-called artificial spin ices. Here we show that, by tuning geometrical frustration down, a peculiar type of these artificial systems is an excellent candidate. We produce this material and experimentally observe the emergent monopoles; then, we calculate the effects of external magnetic fields, illustrating how to generate controlled magnetic currents. This potential nano-device for use in magnetronics can be practical even at room temperature and the relevant parameters (such as magnetic charge strength etc) for developing this technology can be tuned at will.
Artificial spin ice offers the possibility to investigate a variety of dipolar orderings, spin frustrations and ground states. However, the most fascinating aspect is the realization that magnetic charge order can be established without spin order. We have investigated magnetic dipoles arranged on a honeycomb lattice as a function of applied field, using magnetic force microscopy. For the easy direction with the field parallel to one of the three dipole sublattices we observe at coercivity a maximum of spin frustration and simultaneously a maximum of charge order of magnetic monopoles with alternating charges $pm$ 3.
Artificial spin ice (ASI) are arrays on nanoscaled magnets that can serve both as models for frustration in atomic spin ice as well as for exploring new spin-wave-based strategies to transmit, process, and store information. Here, we exploit the intricate interplay of the magnetization dynamics of two dissimilar ferromagnetic metals arranged on complimentary lattice sites in a square ASI to effectively modulate the spin-wave properties. We show that the interaction between the two sublattices results in unique spectra attributed to each sublattice and we observe inter- and intra-lattice dynamics facilitated by the distinct magnetization properties of the two materials. The dynamic properties are systematically studied by angular-dependent broadband ferromagnetic resonance and confirmed by micromagnetic simulations. We show that the combination of materials with dissimilar magnetic properties enables the realization of a wide range of two-dimensional structures potentially opening the door to new concepts in nanomagnonics.