Spin wave assisted synchronization in 2D arrays of spin torque oscillators

Abstract

This work reports on achieving synchronization in a large 2D array of spin-transfer torque nano-oscillators (STNOs) by means of propagating spin waves. The synchronization is made possible by means of a honeycomb structure in the magnetic film with interchanging regions with higher and lower magnetic damping. Such a structure creates a network of nearest-neighbor interactions between the STNOs with an equal properly tuned phase shift. Micromagnetic simulations demonstrate the efficiency of synchronization, including phase and frequency locking across the entire large STNO array. Synchronization is obtained at zero and room temperatures as well as for structures with distributions of the material parameters. Synchronization can be tuned by enabling or disabling next-nearest-neighbor interactions, and such tunability allows selectively synchronizing or desynchronizing subarrays of the entire large array. The presented ideas may find applications as microwave sources and for neuromorphic computing and signal processing.