Magnetic Configuration Driven Femtosecond Spin Dynamics in Synthetic Antiferromagnets.

Ultrafast demagnetization in diverse materials has sparked immense research activities due to its captivating richness and contested underlying mechanisms. Among these, the two most celebrated mechanisms have been the spin-flip scattering (SFS) and spin transport (ST) of optically excited carriers. In this work, we have investigated femtosecond laser-induced ultrafast demagnetization in perpendicular magnetic anisotropy-based synthetic antiferromagnets (p-SAFs) where [Co/Pt]n-1/Co multilayer blocks are separated by Ru or Ir spacers. Our investigation conclusively shows that the ST of optically excited carriers can have a significant contribution to the ultrafast demagnetization in addition to SFS processes. Moreover, we have also achieved an active control over the individual mechanisms by specially designing the SAF samples and altering the external magnetic field and excitation fluence. Our study provides a vital understanding of the underlying mechanism of ultrafast demagnetization in synthetic antiferromagnets, which will be crucial in future research and applications of antiferromagnetic spintronics.

Resonant amplification of intrinsic magnon modes and generation of new extrinsic modes in a two-dimensional array of interacting multiferroic nanomagnets by surface acoustic waves.

Using time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect (TR-MOKE) microscopy, we demonstrate surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) induced resonant amplification of intrinsic spin-wave (SW) modes, as well as generation of new extrinsic or driven modes at the SAW frequency, in a densely packed two-dimensional array of elliptical Co nanomagnets fabricated on a piezoelectric LiNbO3 substrate. This system can efficiently serve as a magnonic crystal (MC), where the intrinsic shape anisotropy and the strong inter-element magnetostatic interaction trigger the incoherent precession of the nanomagnets' magnetization in the absence of any bias magnetic field, giving rise to the 'intrinsic' SW modes. The magnetoelastic coupling leads to a rich variety of SW phenomena when the SAW is launched along the major axis of the nanomagnets, such as 4-7 times amplification of intrinsic modes (at 3, 4, 7 and 10 GHz) when the applied SAW frequencies are resonant with these frequencies, and the generation of new extrinsic modes at non-resonant SAW frequencies. However, when the SAW is launched along the minor axis, a dominant driven mode appears at the applied SAW frequency. This reveals that the magnetoelastic coupling between SW and SAW is anisotropic in nature. Micromagnetic simulation results are in qualitative agreement with the experimental observations and elucidate the underlying dynamics. Our findings lay the groundwork for bias-field free magnonics, where the SW behavior is efficiently tuned by SAWs. It has important applications in the design of energy efficient on-chip microwave devices, SW logic, and extreme sub-wavelength ultra-miniaturized microwave antennas for embedded applications.

Observation of angle-dependent mode conversion and mode hopping in 2D annular antidot lattice.

We report spin-wave excitations in annular antidot lattice fabricated from 15 nm-thin Ni80Fe20 film. The nanodots of 170 nm diameters are embedded in the 350 nm (diameter) antidot lattice to form the annular antidot lattice, which is arranged in a square lattice with edge-to-edge separation of 120 nm. A strong anisotropy in the spin-wave modes are observed with the change in orientation angle (ϕ) of the in-plane bias magnetic field by using Time-resolved Magneto-optic Kerr microscope. A flattened four-fold rotational symmetry, mode hopping and mode conversion leading to mode quenching for three prominent spin-wave modes are observed in this lattice with the variation of the bias field orientation. Micromagnetic simulations enable us to successfully reproduce the measured evolution of frequencies with the orientation of bias magnetic field, as well as to identify the spatial profiles of the modes. The magnetostatic field analysis, suggest the existence of magnetostatic coupling between the dot and antidot in annular antidot sample. Further local excitations of some selective spin-wave modes using numerical simulations showed the anisotropic spin-wave propagation through the lattice.

Hybrid Magnetodynamical Modes in a Single Magnetostrictive Nanomagnet on a Piezoelectric Substrate Arising from Magnetoelastic Modulation of Precessional Dynamics.

Magnetoelastic (or "straintronic") switching has emerged as an extremely energy-efficient mechanism for switching the magnetization of magnetostrictive nanomagnets in magnetic memory and logic, and non-Boolean circuits. Here, we investigate the ultrafast magnetodynamics associated with straintronic switching in a single quasielliptical magnetostrictive Co nanomagnet deposited on a piezoelectric Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 substrate using time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect (TR-MOKE) measurements. The pulsed laser pump beam in the TR-MOKE plays a dual role: it causes precession of the nanomagnet's magnetization about an applied bias magnetic field and it also generates surface acoustic waves in the piezoelectric substrate that produce periodic strains in the magnetostrictive nanomagnet and modulate the precessional dynamics. This modulation gives rise to intriguing hybrid magnetodynamical modes in the nanomagnet, with a rich spin-wave texture. The characteristic frequencies of these modes are 5-15 GHz, indicating that strain can affect magnetization in a magnetostrictive nanomagnet in time scales much smaller than 1 ns (∼100 ps). This can enable ∼10 GHz range magnetoelastic nano-oscillators that are actuated by strain instead of a spin-polarized current, as well as ultrafast magnetoelectric generation of spin waves for magnonic logic circuits, holograms, etc.

Field-controlled ultrafast magnetization dynamics in two-dimensional nanoscale ferromagnetic antidot arrays.

Ferromagnetic antidot arrays have emerged as a system of tremendous interest due to their interesting spin configuration and dynamics as well as their potential applications in magnetic storage, memory, logic, communications and sensing devices. Here, we report experimental and numerical investigation of ultrafast magnetization dynamics in a new type of antidot lattice in the form of triangular-shaped Ni80Fe20 antidots arranged in a hexagonal array. Time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect and micromagnetic simulations have been exploited to study the magnetization precession and spin-wave modes of the antidot lattice with varying lattice constant and in-plane orientation of the bias-magnetic field. A remarkable variation in the spin-wave modes with the orientation of in-plane bias magnetic field is found to be associated with the conversion of extended spin-wave modes to quantized ones and vice versa. The lattice constant also influences this variation in spin-wave spectra and spin-wave mode profiles. These observations are important for potential applications of the antidot lattices with triangular holes in future magnonic and spintronic devices.

Hydrogen sulphide in exhaled breath: a potential biomarker for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in IBS.

There is a pressing need to develop a novel early-detection strategy for the precise evolution of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients. The current method based on a hydrogen breath test (HBT) for the detection of SIBO is highly controversial. HBT has many limitations and drawbacks. It often fails to indentify SIBO when IBS individuals have 'non-hydrogen-producing' colonic bacteria. Here, we show that hydrogen sulphide (H2S) in exhaled breath is distinctly altered for diarrhea-predominant IBS individuals with positive and negative SIBO by the activity of intestinal sulphate-reducing bacteria. Subsequently, by analyzing the excretion kinetics of breath H2S, we found a missing link between breath H2S and SIBO when HBT often fails to diagnose SIBO. Moreover, breath H2S can track the precise evolution of SIBO, even after the eradication of bacterial overgrowth. Our findings suggest that the changes in H2S in the bacterial environment may contribute to the pathogenesis of SIBO and the breath H2S as a potential biomarker for non-invasive, rapid and precise assessment of SIBO without the endoscopy-based microbial culture of jejunal aspirates, and thus may open new perspectives into the pathophysiology of SIBO in IBS subjects.

Continuous wave external-cavity quantum cascade laser-based high-resolution cavity ring-down spectrometer for ultrasensitive trace gas detection.

A high-resolution cavity ring-down spectroscopic (CRDS) system based on a continuous wave (cw) mode-hop-free (MHF) external-cavity quantum cascade laser (EC-QCL) operating at λ∼5.2 µm has been developed for ultrasensitive detection of nitric oxide (NO). We report the performance of the high-resolution EC-QCL based cw-CRDS instrument by measuring the rotationally resolved Λ-doublet e and f components of the P(7.5) line in the fundamental band of NO at 1850.169 cm-1 and 1850.179 cm-1. A noise-equivalent absorption coefficient of 1.01×10-9 cm-1 Hz-1/2 was achieved based on an empty cavity ring-down time of τ0=5.6 µs and standard deviation of 0.11% with averaging of six ring-down time determinations. The CRDS sensor demonstrates the advantages of measuring parts per billion NO concentrations in N2, as well as in human breath samples with ultrahigh sensitivity and specificity. The CRDS system could also be generalized to measure simultaneously many other trace molecular species within the broad tuning range of cw EC-QCL, as well as for studying the rotationally resolved hyperfine structures.

Mechanisms linking metabolism of Helicobacter pylori to (18)O and (13)C-isotopes of human breath CO2.

The gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori utilize glucose during metabolism, but the underlying mechanisms linking to oxygen-18 ((18)O) and carbon-13 ((13)C)-isotopic fractionations of breath CO2 during glucose metabolism are poorly understood. Using the excretion dynamics of (18)O/(16)O and (13)C/(12)C-isotope ratios of breath CO2, we found that individuals with Helicobacter pylori infections exhibited significantly higher isotopic enrichments of (18)O in breath CO2 during the 2h-glucose metabolism regardless of the isotopic nature of the substrate, while no significant enrichments of (18)O in breath CO2 were manifested in individuals without the infections. In contrast, the (13)C-isotopic enrichments of breath CO2 were significantly higher in individuals with Helicobacter pylori compared to individuals without infections in response to (13)C-enriched glucose uptake, whereas a distinguishable change of breath (13)C/(12)C-isotope ratios was also evident when Helicobacter pylori utilize natural glucose. Moreover, monitoring the (18)O and (13)C-isotopic exchange in breath CO2 successfully diagnosed the eradications of Helicobacter pylori infections following a standard therapy. Our findings suggest that breath (12)C(18)O(16)O and (13)C(16)O(16)O can be used as potential molecular biomarkers to distinctively track the pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori and also for eradication purposes and thus may open new perspectives into the pathogen's physiology along with isotope-specific non-invasive diagnosis of the infection.