  We have investigated the generation of spin waves in the free layer of an
extended spin-valve structure with a nano-scaled point contact driven by both
microwave and direct electric current using Brillouin light scattering
microscopy. Simultaneously with the directly excited spin waves, strong
nonlinear effects are observed, namely the generation of eigenmodes with
integer multiple frequencies (2 \emph{f}, 3 \emph{f}, 4 \emph{f}) and modes
with non-integer factors (0.5 \emph{f}, 1.5 \emph{f}) with respect to the
excitation frequency \emph{f}. The origin of these nonlinear modes is traced
back to three magnon scattering processes. The direct current influence on the
generation of the fundamental mode at frequency \emph{f} can be related to the
spin-transfer torque, while the efficiency of three-magnon-scattering processes
is controlled by the Oersted field as an additional effect of the direct
current.

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics