Near-zero effective magnetization enabling ultra-low threshold currents in spin Hall micro-oscillators

Abstract

Reducing the electrical current required to excite magnetization dynamics is a central challenge, e.g. for energy-efficient magnonic devices or oscillator-based computing. Spin Hall oscillators typically rely on large current densities to compensate intrinsic magnetic damping, so these systems are usually studied on the nanoscale (Spin Hall Nano Oscillators, SHNOs) to work with moderate currents and a favorable heat dissipation geometry. Here, we demonstrate that engineering a near-zero effective magnetization ($M_\mathrm{eff}$) enables a drastic reduction of the magnetization oscillation threshold current density for Spin Hall oscillators. This makes it possible to excite even comparably large systems with micrometer lateral sizes, so-called "Spin Hall Micro-Oscillators" (SHMOs). Using micro-focused Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy, we quantify the threshold current density in SHMOs based on W/CoFeB/MgO/Ta with near-zero $M_\mathrm{eff}$. We observe threshold current densities as low as $J_{\mathrm{th}}$ = (0.292 $\pm$ 0.025) $\times 10^{10}$ A/m$^{2}$, representing a reduction of more than two orders of magnitude compared with most recent reported SHNOs. Using systematic micromagnetic simulations, we investigate the breaking down of the macrospin approximation and underline the high influence of $M_\mathrm{eff}$ on magnetization dynamics under applied spin currents. Our results establish $M_\mathrm{eff}$ engineering as a powerful strategy for realizing ultra-low-power spin Hall oscillators and energy-efficient magnetization control.