Magnetization precession due to a spin-polarized current in a thin nanoelement: Numerical simulation study

Abstract

In this paper a detailed numerical study (in frames of the Slonczewski formalism) of magnetization oscillations driven by a spin-polarized current through a thin elliptical nanoelement is presented. We show that a sophisticated micromagnetic model, where a polycrystalline structure of a nanoelement is taken into account, can explain qualitatively all most important features of the magnetization oscillation spectra recently observed experimentally [S. I. Kiselev et al., Nature 425, 380 (2003)], namely, existence of several equidistant spectral bands, sharp onset and abrupt disappearance of magnetization oscillations with increasing current, absence of the out-of-plane regime predicted by a macrospin model, and the relation between frequencies of so-called small-angle and quasichaotic oscillations. However, a quantitative agreement with experimental results (especially concerning the frequency of quasichaotic oscillations) could not be achieved in the region of reasonable parameter values, indicating that further model refinement is necessary for a complete understanding of the spin-driven magnetization precession even in this relatively simple experimental situation.