Dependence of switching process on the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy constant in P-MTJ

We investigate the dependence of the switching process on the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy(PMA) constant in perpendicular spin transfer torque magnetic tunnel junctions(P-MTJs) using micromagnetic simulations. It is found that the final stable states of the magnetization distribution of the free layer after switching can be divided into three different states based on different PMA constants: vortex, uniform, and steady. Different magnetic states can be attributed to a trade-off among demagnetization, exchange, and PMA energies. The generation of the vortex state is also related to the non-uniform stray field from the polarizer, and the final stable magnetization is sensitive to the PMA constant. The vortex and uniform states have different switching processes, and the switching time of the vortex state is longer than that of the uniform state due to hindrance by the vortex.     

Transitions between the states with uniform and vortex distributions of magnetization in ferromagnetic nanoparticles under the action of an inhomogeneous magnetic field

Specific features of magnetization distribution in elliptical Co nanoparticles have been investigated by magnetic force microscopy. Reversible transitions (induced by the microscope magnetic probe) between the uniform and vortex magnetization states have been found. The possibility of controlling the vorticity direction in such particles is shown.     

MFM probe control of magnetic vortex chirality in elliptical Co nanoparticles

Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) methods were applied to investigate the peculiarities of magnetization distribution in elliptical 400×600×27 nm Co particles. Reversible transitions between the uniform and vortex states under inhomogeneous magnetic field of MFM probe were observed. Possibility to control the chirality of a magnetic vortex in these particles by MFM probe manipulation was shown.     

界面Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya相互作用下辐射状磁涡旋形成机制

辐射状磁涡旋结构是一种稳定的拓扑磁结构,因其具有热稳定性高、驱动电流小等特点,成为当前继斯格明子之后又一新兴的研究热点.本文利用微磁学模拟方法研究了在界面Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya相互作用（IDMI）下辐射状磁涡旋形成机制.结果表明：纳米盘直径越小,能稳定形成辐射状磁涡旋的IDMI强度范围就越大,当圆盘厚度增加一个数量级时,虽然可以稳定形成辐射状磁涡旋,但IDMI强度取值范围会随之变小.通过对不同磁矩初始态下辐射状磁涡旋的形成过程中磁矩、斯格明子数及各项能量变化的研究发现,环形涡旋和单畴均可作为辐射状磁涡旋形成的初始状态,但单畴初始态的形成时间比环形涡旋初始态的形成时间更长,其能量衰减时间比以环形涡旋为初始态的衰减时间更短.这表明形成辐射状磁涡旋极性比形成辐射旋性需要更长时间,且能量变化主要与涡旋核的生成及面内辐射状磁矩有关,而与涡旋核在盘中的位置无关.研究结果揭示了辐射状磁涡旋的形成机制,为基于辐射状磁涡旋的具体应用提供了理论依据.     

Vortex structures in planar lattices of magnetic dipoles in the presence of exchange coupling

Vortex equilibrium states of planar square lattices of magnetic dipoles in the presence of the exchange interaction have been studied. It has been shown that the vortex equilibrium configurations differ in the position of the vortex center and, correspondingly, in the magnitude and direction of the total magnetic moment of the system. In the case of the position of the vortex center in the center of the array, the total magnetic moment of the system is zero. The vortex center moves in the direction perpendicular to the field under the action of the external planar magnetic field on the system. Thus, the transitions between different equilibrium vortex configurations are implemented and the magnetic moment of the system of dipoles is controlled.     

Reliable control of magnetic vortex chirality in asymmetrically optimized magnetic nanodisk

Magnetic vortex has attracted attention in the field of information storage because their topological spin structures with chiral bistable states. If the vortex core polarity and vortex circulation sense can be controlled simultaneously in a nanodisk, which will be more beneficial to realize the multi-bit ultrahigh density storage. In this paper, a reliable control scheme for magnetic vortex chirality is proposed by optimizing the structure of Pac-Man-like nanodisk. The results show that the polarity and circulation of the vortex can be controlled simultaneously by changing the direction of the global magnetic field, and even the chiral states of the vortex can be determined by detecting the stray field distribution on the surface of the nanodisk. The optimized Pac-Man-like nanodisk provide an experimental method for the control and detection of magnetic vortex chirality, which will be beneficial to the realization of multi-bit magnetic storage or magnetic logic technology in the future.     

Direct observation of geometrical phase transitions in mesoscopic superconductors by scanning tunneling microscopy

Using scanning tunneling microscopy, we mapped the distribution of the local density of states in a single crystal superconductor heterostructure with an array of submicron normal metal islands. We observe the coexistence of strongly interacting multiquanta vortex lattice with interstitial Abrikosov vortices. The newly formed composite magnetic flux structure undergoes a series of phase transitions between different topological configuration states. The vortex configuration states are strongly dependent on the number of flux quanta and the nanoscale confinement architecture of the mesoscopic superconductor. Here, we present images of vortex phase transitions due to confinement effects when the number of magnetic flux quanta in the system changes. The vortex dynamics in these systems could serve as a model for behavior of confined many-body systems when the number of particles changes.     

Interaction of a magnetic vortex with the probe field of a magnetic force microscope

The interaction of a magnetic vortex in a circular ferromagnetic nanoparticle with the probe field of a magnetic force microscope (MFM) is theoretically investigated. In the calculations, the probe field is approximated by the point dipole field. The rigid magnetic vortex model is used to describe the vortex state of magnetization. It is found that the effect of the probe field on the rigid magnetic vortex shell is similar to the effect of a uniform magnetic field parallel to the particle plane. The effect of the Z component of the probe field on the core of the vortex results in mutual probe-vortex attraction or repulsion. It is shown that the magnetization direction of the core of the vortex in the MFM probe field can be changed without a change in the shell vorticity direction.     

Magnetic bistability of Co nanodots

Size-dependent magnetic single-domain versus vortex state stability of Co/Ru(0001) nanodots is explored with spin-polarized low-energy electron microscopy, analytical modeling, and micromagnetic simulations. We show that both single-domain and vortex states can be stabilized in a broad region near the phase boundary. The calculated width of the bistability region and temperature dependent heights of the energy barriers between both states agree well with our experimental findings.     

Ordered states and structural transitions in a system of Abrikosov vortices with periodic pinning

A system of Abrikosov vortices in a quasi-two-dimensional HTSC plate is considered for various periodic lattices of pinning centers. The magnetization and equilibrium configurations of the vortex density for various values of external magnetic field and temperature are calculated using the Monte Carlo method. It is found that the interaction of the vortex system with the periodic lattice of pinning centers leads to the formation of various ordered vortex states through which the vortex system passes upon an increase or a decrease in the magnetic field. It is shown that ordered vortex states, as well as magnetic field screening processes, are responsible for the emergence of clearly manifested peaks on the magnetization curves. Extended pinning centers and the effect of multiple trapping of vortices on the behavior of magnetization are considered. Melting and crystallization of the vortex system under the periodic pinning conditions are investigated. It is found that the vortex system can crystallize upon heating in the case of periodic pinning.     

Magnetic vortices in small ferromagnetic particles with the strong dipolar interaction

The ground state of cylindrical magnetic samples of different sizes at nonzero applied magnetic field is studied theoretically taking into account the exchange and dipole-dipole interactions at an arbitrary ratio of coupling constants. In addition to the weakly inhomogeneous and standard vortex states well known for the case of the weak dipole-dipole interaction, the vortex states with the complicated structure of the vortex core have been found. The state diagram for these particles has been constructed and analyzed in terms of scaling consideration.     

Dependence of current and field driven depinning of domain walls on their structure and chirality in permalloy nanowires

A magnetic domain wall (DW) injected and pinned at a notch in a permalloy nanowire is shown to exhibit four well-defined magnetic states, vortex and transverse, each with two chiralities. These states, imaged using magnetic force microscopy, are readily detected from their different resistance values arising from the anisotropic magnetoresistance effect. Whereas distinct depinning fields and critical depinning currents in the presence of magnetic fields are found, the critical depinning currents are surprisingly similar for all four DW states in low magnetic fields. We observe current-induced transformations between these DW states below the critical depinning current which may account for the similar depinning currents.     

Correlated magnetic vortex chains in mesoscopic cobalt dot arrays

Nucleation and annihilation of vortex states have been studied in two-dimensional arrays of densely packed cobalt dots. A clear signature of dipolar interactions both between single-domain state dots and vortex state dots has been observed from the dependence of vortex nucleation and annihilation fields on interdot separation. A direct consequence of these interactions is the formation of vortex chains as well as dipole chains aligned along the direction of the external field. In addition, short range correlation of chiralities within vortex chains has been observed using magnetic force microscopy imaging and has been attributed to cross-talking between adjacent elements.     

具有面内四极磁场的旋转玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚体的基态结构研究

通过虚时演化方法研究了具有面内四极磁场的旋转玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚体的基态结构.结果发现:面内四极磁场和旋转双重作用可导致中央Mermin-Ho涡旋的产生;随着磁场梯度增强,Mermin-Ho涡旋周围环绕的涡旋趋向对称化排布;在四极磁场下,密度相互作用和自旋交换相互作用作为体系的调控参数,可以控制Mermin-Ho涡旋周围的涡旋数目;该体系自旋结构中存在双曲型meron和half-skyrmion两种拓扑结构.     

Static and dynamic behaviours of multivortex states in a superconducting sample with mesoscopic pinning sites

This preliminary work has focused on the static transitions between the multivortex states interacting with square arrays of the mesoscopic pinning sites in superconducting samples. Our results were obtained from an extensive series of numerical simulations as functions of the magnetic field, pinning radius, and sample size. We have presented a wide range of multivortex configurations from commensurate dimer states to more concentric vortex shells at the matching fields. The stability of these states was also studied by means of the current-voltage V(I) curves which illustrate dynamic phase transitions as a function of applied driving force. These transitions manifested themselves as either a sudden jump in velocity or a nonlinear increase with velocity fluctuations in V(I) curves. We have investigated whether that the phase transitions between the pinned regime and the elastic flow regime are indicative of the stability of the initial vortex states. The variety of intermediate flow phases is attributed to large pinning size (reentrant behavior), strong commensurability and caging effects. In particular, three-shell vortex structures were obtained in the presence of larger pinning sites at adequate matching magnetic fields.     

Effects of the spin–orbit coupling on magnetic and superconducting properties in iron-based superconductors

We analyze the magnetic properties through two-orbital Hubbard model with the spin–orbit coupling (SOC) interaction in the iron-based superconductors. With the help of the Ising approximation for the Hund’s coupling between the itinerant electrons and the localized spins, we give a self-consistent account of the various magnetic orders observed in pnictides and the pairing symmetry. We also calculate the local density of states (LDOS) of the vortex state when a magnetic field is applied. The LDOS without SOC shows no resonant peak at the vortex core center in the superconducting state, while it shows an obvious resonant peak when SOC is applied.     

W(110)基底上的铁纳米岛初始自发磁化态的微磁学模拟

用微磁学模拟研究W(110)基底上铁纳米岛的初始自发磁化态的磁畴结构,确定了不规则形状、椭圆形和矩形岛中不同磁畴态之间的各向异性常数的临界点,得到了纳米岛的磁化态作为各向异性常数和厚度函数的完整相图,相图中存在一较宽的过渡区,把双畴态与涡旋态和菱形态分开,过渡区两侧的边界是不确定的.计算结果表明,初始自发磁化态的磁畴结构主要由各向异性及岛的厚度决定,而且岛的边沿形状对涡旋态和菱形态的磁畴结构有重要影响.准确的铁纳米岛的各向异性常数仍有待于进一步确定. 关键词： 初始自发磁化磁畴结构 铁纳米岛 微磁学模拟 各向异性     

Dynamical matching of Josephson vortex lattice with sample edge in layered high-Tc superconductors: origin of the periodic oscillation of flux flow resistance

We numerically investigate Josephson vortex flow states in layered high-T(c) superconductors motivated by a recent experimental observation for accurate periodic magnetic field dependences of the Josephson vortex flow resistance over a wide range of magnetic field (0.5-4.0 T). We confirm in our mesoscale simulations that dynamical matching of Josephson vortex lattice with sample edge is responsible for the periodic dependence. The present simulations reveal that the Josephson vortex lattice flow speed is particularly suppressed when the moment of vortex entry matches that of vortex escape. Thus, the possible matching situations are taken into account and the observed periodicity is successfully explained.     

电流调控磁涡旋的极性和旋性

提出了一种特殊自旋阀结构, 其极化层(钉扎层)磁矩沿面内方向, 自由层磁矩成磁涡旋结构. 自由层在形状上设计成左右两边厚度不同的阶梯形圆盘. 微磁学模拟研究发现, 通过调控所施加的高斯型脉冲电流的大小、方向和脉冲宽度, 可以实现磁涡旋的不同旋性、不同极性的组态控制. 分析了该结构中电流调控磁涡旋旋性和极性的物理原因和微观机理.     

Controlling double vortex states in low-dimensional dipolar systems

The reversal process of the chirality of each opposite vortex belonging to a double vortex state in ferromagnetic hysterons, via the application of in-plane magnetic fields, is reported. Simulations reveal that such a process involves the formation of four intermediate states, including original ones. Hysteresis loops can occur only in a counterclockwise fashion because of one of these intermediate states. Double vortex states can also be controlled by electric fields in ferroelectric nanostructures of different shapes, but with some key differences with respect to the ferromagnetic case.