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C H van der Wal

Publications and source records attributed to C H van der Wal.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Electrical detection of spin pumping due to the precessing magnetization of a single ferromagnet.

We report direct electrical detection of spin pumping, using a lateral normal-metal/ferromagnet/normal-metal device, where a single ferromagnet in ferromagnetic resonance pumps spin-polarized electrons into the normal metal, resulting in spin accumulation. The resulting backflow of spin current into the ferromagnet generates a dc voltage due to the spin-dependent conductivities of the ferromagnet. By comparing different contact materials (Al and/or Pt), we find, in agreement with theory, that the spin-related properties of the normal metal dictate the magnitude of the dc voltage.

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Unified description of bulk and interface-enhanced spin pumping.

We describe a mechanism for generating nonequilibrium electron-spin accumulation in semiconductors or metals by rf magnetic field pumping. With a semiclassical model we show that a rotating applied magnetic field (or the processing magnetization inside a weak ferromagnet) generates a dc spin accumulation. For bulk systems this spin accumulation is in general given by a small fraction of h omega, where omega is the rotation or precession frequency. With the addition of a neighboring, field-free region, and allowing for the diffusion of spins across the interface, the spin accumulation is dramatically enhanced towards h omega near the interface. The interface-enhanced spin accumulation obtained within our bulk-oriented model is surprisingly similar to predictions based on interface-scattering theory [A. Brataas, Phys. Rev. B 66, 060404(R) (2002)].

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Atomic memory for correlated photon states.

We experimentally demonstrate emission of two quantum-mechanically correlated light pulses with a time delay that is coherently controlled via temporal storage of photonic states in an ensemble of rubidium atoms. The experiment is based on Raman scattering, which produces correlated pairs of spin-flipped atoms and photons, followed by coherent conversion of the atomic states into a different photon beam after a controllable delay. This resonant nonlinear optical process is a promising technique for potential applications in quantum communication.

Lasers↗

Quantum superposition of macroscopic persistent-current states.

Microwave spectroscopy experiments have been performed on two quantum levels of a macroscopic superconducting loop with three Josephson junctions. Level repulsion of the ground state and first excited state is found where two classical persistent-current states with opposite polarity are degenerate, indicating symmetric and antisymmetric quantum superpositions of macroscopic states. The two classical states have persistent currents of 0.5 microampere and correspond to the center-of-mass motion of millions of Cooper pairs.

Journal Article↗