Eigenvalue-based micromagnetic analysis of switching in spin-torque-driven structures

Abstract

We present an eigenvalue-based approach for studying the magnetization dynamics in magnetic nanostructures driven by spintronic excitations, such as spin transfer torque and spin orbit torque. The approach represents the system dynamics in terms of normal oscillation modes (eigenstates) with corresponding complex eigenfrequencies. The dynamics is driven by a small number of active eigenstates and often considering just a single eigenstate is sufficient. We develop a perturbation theory that provides semi-analytical dynamic solutions by using eigenstates for the case in the absence of damping and spintronic excitations as a basis. The approach provides important insights into dynamics in such systems and allows solving several difficulties in their modeling, such as extracting the switching current in magnetic random access memories (MRAM) and understanding switching mechanisms. We show that the presented approach directly predicts the critical switching current, i.e., switching current for an infinite time. The approach also provides solutions for the switching dynamics allowing obtaining the switching current for a finite switching time, provided that the system symmetry is broken, e.g., by tilting the polarizer, so that switching by a finite pulse is possible.