A versatile rotary-stage high frequency probe station for studying magnetic films and devices

Abstract

We present a rotary-stage microwave probe station suitable for magnetic films and spintronic devices. Two stages, one for field rotation from parallel to perpendicular to the sample plane (Out-of-Plane) and the other intended for field rotation within the sample plane (In-Plane) have been designed. The sample, probes and micro positioners are rotated simultaneously with the stages, which allows the field orientation to cover $\theta$ from 0 to $90^{\circ}$ and $\varphi$ from 0 to $360^{\circ}$. $\theta$ and $\varphi$ being the angle between the direction of current flow and field in a Out-of-Plane and an In-Plane rotation, respectively. The operation frequency is up to 40 GHz and the magnetic field up to 1 T. The sample holder, vision system and probe assembly are compactly designed for the probes to land on a wafer with diameter up to 3$\,$cm. Using homemade multi-pin probes and commercially available high frequency probes, several applications including 4-probe DC measurements, the determination of domain wall velocity and spin transfer torque ferromagnetic resonance are demonstrated.