Modeling Multi-Magnet Networks Interacting Via Spin Currents

Abstract: The significant experimental advances of the last few decades in dealing with the interaction of spin currents and nanomagnets, at the device level, has allowed envisioning a broad class of devices that propose to implement information processing using spin currents and nanomagnets. To analyze such spin-magnet logic circuits, in general, we have developed a coupled spin-transport/ magnetization-dynamics simulation framework that could be broadly applicable to various classes of spin-valve/ spin-torque devices. Indeed, the primary purpose of this chapter is to describe in detail, the overall approach we have developed to include a description of spin transport coupled with magnetization dynamics and to show how it was benchmarked against available data on experiments. We address non-collinear spin-transport in Section-2 using a lumped "4-component spin-circuit formalism" that describes the interaction of non-collinear magnets (required for modeling spin torque), by computing 4-component currents and voltages at every node of a "circuit". For modeling the magnetization dynamics, we use the standard Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation with the Slonczewski and the field-like terms included for spin torque. Section-3 describes how this LLG model is coupled with the spin transport model to analyze spin-torque experiments and spin-magnet circuits in general. We include MATLAB codes in the Appendix to facilitate a "hands-on" understanding of our model and hope it will enable interested readers to conveniently analyze their own experiments, develop a deeper insight into spin-magnet circuits or come up with their own creative designs.