Field and temperature tuning of magnetic diode in permalloy honeycomb lattice

Abstract

The observation of magnetic diode behavior with ultra-low forward voltage renders new venue for energetically efficient spintronic device research in the unconventional system of two-dimensional permalloy honeycomb lattice. However, detailed understanding of temperature and magnetic field tuning of diode behaviors are imperative to any practical application. In this report, our study unveils many important properties of magnetic diode that not only pave the way for practical applications, but also underlines the role of emergent phenomena of magnetic charge correlation on honeycomb vertices. We find that magnetic diode behavior persists across a broad temperature range. In a surprising observation, magnetic field application tends to induce a peculiar reentrant characteristic where diode behavior is suppressed in remnant field but reappears after warming to room temperature. Analysis of $I-V$ data suggests a modest energy gap, $∖sim$ 0.03 - 0.1 eV, which is comparable to magnetic Coulomb’s interaction energy between emergent magnetic charges on honeycomb vertices in the reverse biased state. It affirms the role of magnetic charge correlation in unidirectional conduction in 2D honeycomb lattice. The experimental results are expected to spur the utilization of magnetic diode in next generation spintronic device applications.

Keywords

• Magnetic diode
• Spintronics
• Artificial magnetic honeycomb lattice
• Magnetic charge dynamics