Time-resolved scanning Kerr microscopy (TRSKM) was used to study precessional magnetization dynamics induced by a radio frequency (RF) current within a Al2O3/Py(5 nm)/Pt(6 nm)/Au(150 nm) spin Hall nano-oscillator structure. The Au layer was formed into two needle-shaped electrical contacts that concentrated the current in the centre of a Py/Pt mesa of 4 µm diameter. Due to the spin Hall effect, current within the Pt layer drives a spin current into the Py layer, exerting a spin transfer torque (STT). By injecting RF current, and exploiting the phase-sensitivity of TRSKM and the symmetry of the device structure, the STT and Oersted field torques have been separated and spatially mapped. The STT and torque due to the in-plane Oersted field are observed to exhibit minima at the device centre that is ascribed to spreading of RF current that is not observed for DC current. Torques associated with the RF current may destabilise the position of the selflocalised bullet mode excited by the DC current, and inhibit injection locking. The present study demonstrates the need to characterise both DC and RF current distributions carefully.

Time-resolved scanning Kerr microscopy (TRSKM) has been used to image precessional magnetization dynamics excited by a DC current within a nano-contact (NC) spin Hall nano-oscillator (SHNO). Injection of a radio frequency (RF) current was used to phase lock the SHNO to the TRSKM. The out of plane magnetization was detected by means of the polar magneto optical Kerr effect (MOKE). However, longitudinal MOKE images were dominated by an artifact arising from the edges of the Au NCs. Time resolved imaging revealed the simultaneous excitation of a non-linear 'bullet' mode at the centre of the device, once the DC current exceeded a threshold value, and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) induced by the RF current. However, the FMR response observed for sub-critical DC current values exhibits an amplitude minimum at the centre, which is attributed to spreading of the RF spin current due to the reactance of the device structure. This FMR response can be subtracted to yield images of the bullet mode. As the DC current is increased above threshold, the bullet mode appears to increase in size, suggesting increased translational motion. The reduced spatial overlap of the bullet and FMR modes, and this putative translational motion, may impede the injection locking and contribute to the reduced locking range observed within NC-SHNO devices. This illustrates a more general need to control the geometry of an injection-locked oscillator so that the autonomous dynamics of the oscillator exhibit strong spatial overlap with those resulting from the injected signal.Within a spin torque oscillator (STO), magnetic autooscillations, with MHz to GHz frequencies, are driven by the spin transfer torque (STT) associated with injection of DC spin current. Their frequency and amplitude can be tuned via either the DC electrical bias current or an applied magnetic field, while the magnetoresistance of the constituent materials leads to the generation of voltage oscillations. STOs have strong potential for magnetic sensing, signal processing, and neurmorphic computing applications 1,2 . The ability to lock the frequency and phase of the STO to an injected RF signal is an important property within applications, while arrays of STOs promise increased output power through mutual synchronization. However it is first necessary to understand the character of the underlying magnetization dynamics. More specifically, the dynamics excited by both DC and RF currents must be determined if the conditions required for phase-locking are to be fully understood.Within a spin Hall nano-oscillator (SHNO) the Spin Hall effect (SHE) 3,4 drives a pure spin current from a heavy metal with large spin-orbit interaction into a ferromagnet layer 5-7 . The de-coupling of charge and spin currents opens up new device geometries, for example enabling exploitation of magnetic insulators 8 , and in the present study, allows optical access to the active region of the device.The generation of magnetic auto-oscillations requires a critical spin current density to be exceeded. Within t...

To meet growing data storage needs, the density of data stored on hard disk drives must increase. In pursuit of this aim the magnetodynamics of the hard disk write head must be characterized and understood, particularly the process of "flux beaming". In this study, seven different configurations of perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) write heads were imaged using time-resolved scanning Kerr microscopy, revealing their detailed dynamic magnetic state during the write process. It was found that the precise position and number of driving coils can significantly alter the formation of flux beams during the write process. These results are applicable to the design and understanding of current PMR and next-generation heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) devices, as well as being relevant to other magnetic devices. a) Corresponding author. rajv202@ex.ac.uk

Time-resolved Kerr microscopy (TRSKM) has been used to explore the small amplitude picosecond magnetization dynamics induced by spin–orbit torques in a Ta(4 nm)/Co40Fe40B20(1 nm)/MgO(1.6 nm)/Ta(1 nm) Hall bar structure. The time dependent polar magneto optical Kerr effect was recorded following injection of a current pulse of 70 ps duration. Macrospin simulations provide a reasonable description of the precession and a transient background response as the field strength and current polarity are varied, while confirming that the in-plane spin–orbit torque is dominant within this system. Increasing the current density within the simulations leads to coherent magnetization reversal. Inclusion of a modest in-plane bias field is found to reduce both the switching current and the time required for switching. The orientation of the in-plane field relative to the direction of the current determines whether the magnetization can be switched backwards and forwards by current pulses of the same or opposite polarity.