Precessional spin-torque dynamics in biaxial antiferromagnets

The Néel order of an antiferromagnet subject to a spin torque can undergo precession in a circular orbit about any chosen axis. To orient and stabilize the motion against the effects of magnetic anisotropy, the spin polarization should have components in-plane and normal to the plane of the orbit, where the latter must exceed a threshold. For biaxial antiferromagnets, the precessional motion is described by the equation for a damped-driven pendulum, which has hysteresis as a function of the spin current with a critical value where the period diverges. The fundamental frequency of the motion varies inversely with the damping and as (xp-1)1/p, with the drive-to-criticality ratio x and the parameter p>2. An approximate closed-form result for the threshold spin current is presented, which depends on the minimum cutoff frequency the orbit can support. Precession about the hard axis has zero cutoff frequency and the lowest threshold, while the easy axis has the highest cutoff. A device setup is proposed for electrical control and detection of the dynamics, which is promising to demonstrate a tunable terahertz nano-oscillator.