Magneto-Optical Observation Of Mutual Phase-Locking In A Pair Of Spin-Torque Vortex Oscillators.

Nano-contact (NC) spin-torque vortex oscillators (STVOs) that share constituent ferromagnetic layers are anticipated to overcome the technological bottlenecks of low microwave power and phase instability exhibited by individual STVOs.1 Mutual synchronisation of multiple NC-STVOs can be achieved by dynamic coupling within the common magnetic layers.1,2 Alternatively, injection of a small microwave (RF) current can lock the phase of multiple STVOs.3 Direct observation of the coupled magnetization dynamics is challenging and has so far been inferred from micromagnetic simulations.4 In this work a combination of RF electrical characterization and time-resolved scanning Kerr microscopy (TRSKM) has been used to image the magnetization dynamics excited in the continuous film NiFe free layer of a pair of NC-STVOs.