Dynamics of magnetic domain wall motion after nucleation: dependence on the wall energy

The dynamics of magnetic domain wall motion in the FeNi layer of a FeNi/Al2O3/Co trilayer has been investigated by a combination of x-ray magnetic circular dichroism, photoelectron emission microscopy, and a stroboscopic pump-probe technique. The nucleation of domains and subsequent expansion by domain wall motion in the FeNi layer during nanosecond-long magnetic field pulses was observed in the viscous regime up to the Walker limit field. We attribute an observed delay of domain expansion to the influence of the domain wall energy that acts against the domain expansion and that plays an important role when domains are small.     

消磁场对纳米铁磁线磁畴壁动力学行为的影响

为了实现基于磁畴壁运动的自旋电子学装置, 掌握磁畴壁动力学行为是重要争论之一.研究了在外磁场驱动下L-型纳米铁磁线磁畴壁的动力学行为. 通过微磁学模拟,在各种外磁场的驱动下考察了纳米铁磁线磁畴壁的动力学特性; 在较强外磁场的驱动下, 在不同厚度纳米线上考察了纳米线表面消磁场对磁畴壁动力学行为的影响. 为了进一步证实消磁场对磁畴壁动力学的影响, 在垂直于纳米线表面的外磁场辅助下分析了磁畴壁的动力学行为变化. 结果表明, 随着纳米线厚度和外驱动磁场强度的增加, 增强了纳米线表面的消磁场的形成, 使得磁畴壁内部自旋结构发生周期性变化, 导致磁畴壁在纳米线上传播时出现Walker崩溃现象. 在垂直于纳米线表面的外磁场辅助下, 发现辅助磁场可以调节消磁场的强度和方向. 这意味着利用辅助磁场可以有效地控制纳米铁磁线磁畴壁的动力学行为.     

Effect of fluctuations on the forced motion and interactions of domain walls in one-dimensional magnetic systems

Forced motion of a domain wall in the presence of fluctuations of external magnetic field and those of the parameters of the magnetic medium is studied. Calculations for the models of magnetic systems described by the sine-Gordon and Landau-Lifshitz equations are presented. It is shown that the driven motion of domain walls is characterized by the time-independent velocity distribution function which is used to calculate various statistical characteristics of the domain wall. Analysis of the mean velocity of the steady motion of the domain wall leads to the conclusion that the presence of a fluctuating magnetic field results in an increase of the effective relaxation constant of the magnetic system. In case of the sine-Gordon model the mean radiation power accompanying the forced motion of the domain wall is calculated. Inelastic interactions of two domain walls of opposite polarities are described.     

Controlled domain wall motion by current into patterned-U Ni80Fe20 wires

The current-induced domain wall motion was observed experimentally in the case of the domain wall trapped at the semicircular arc within the U shape Ni₈₀Fe₂₀ wire. The measurement of the current-induced domain wall motion was achieved by adding a biased field before switching field and a critical current density was measured. We found two magnetic domain structures in the U pattern. At zero fields, the vortex domain wall nucleated at the semicircular arc of the U pattern. Continuous magnetic state without wall was investigated in near-switching field.     

Domain wall dynamics and Hall effect in eddy current loop in amorphous ferromagnetic wire with small helical anisotropy

Small helical anisotropy was induced in amorphous ferromagnetic Co_68.2Fe_4.3Si_12.5B₁₅ wire by current annealing and simultaneous application of tensile stress and torsion. Presence of helical anisotropy was confirmed by measurement and analysis of the circular magnetic flux versus axial magnetic field hysteresis loops. These measurements also showed that a single domain wall between circular domains can be created by placing the wire in a sufficiently high inhomogeneous magnetic field generated by Helmholtz coils with opposite currents. The domain wall velocity versus axial driving field was measured. The results show that the basic dynamic properties (magnitude of the wall mobility, field interval in which linear dependencies between velocity and field are observed, accelerated increase of the velocity for higher fields) are very similar to those obtained for the domain wall between circular domains driven by a constant circular field. The Hall effect was detected in the eddy current loop generated by the moving domain wall.     

Domain wall dynamics driven by spin transfer torque and the spin-orbit field

We have studied current-driven dynamics of domain walls when an in-plane magnetic field is present in perpendicularly magnetized nanowires using an analytical model and micromagnetic simulations. We model an experimentally studied system, ultrathin magnetic nanowires with perpendicular anisotropy, where an effective in-plane magnetic field is developed when current is passed along the nanowire due to the Rashba-like spin-orbit coupling. Using a one-dimensional model of a domain wall together with micromagnetic simulations, we show that the existence of such in-plane magnetic fields can either lower or raise the threshold current needed to cause domain wall motion. In the presence of the in-plane field, the threshold current differs for positive and negative currents for a given wall chirality, and the wall motion becomes sensitive to out-of-plane magnetic fields. We show that large non-adiabatic spin torque can counteract the effect of the in-plane field.     

Concept of the field-driven domain wall motion memory

In this paper, the concept of field-driven domain wall motion memory is presented. It is confirmed that a domain is shifted with a carefully designed non-uniform field by micromagnetic simulations. The shift of a domain—a bit—can be established by the motion of two domain walls to the same direction and the same distance. In order to get a better understanding of the domain wall motion under the non-uniform transverse magnetic field, we investigate the motion of the transverse Néel-type domain wall by micromagnetic simulations and the collective coordinate approach. The validity of the equation of motion for the domain wall is confirmed by the micromagnetic simulations as functions of the gradient of the non-uniform field, the saturation magnetization, and the Gilbert damping parameter α.     

On the breakdown of stationary motion of a domain wall in bilayer uniaxial magnetic films with different signs of the gyromagnetic ratio in layers

The motion of an isolated domain wall in bilayer uniaxial magnetic films with a gyromagnetic ratio of different sign in the layers is studied by numerically solving the Slonczewski equations. The gyromagnetic ratio and the thickness of the layers are varied, and threshold values of the field and velocity of the domain wall at which a breakdown of its stationary motion takes place are calculated. It is shown that, for a specific relationship between the thickness and the gyromagnetic ratio of the layers, the field and the velocity for the breakdown of the stationary motion of the domain wall increase infinitely.     

Efficiency of shear surface wave transformation by the motion of the confining domain wall

The transformation of a shear surface magnetoelastic wave by the motion of the 180° confining domain wall in a ferromagnet is considered. Changes in the wave spectrum due to the motion of the wall are correlated with the variations of the energies of the elastic and magnetic subsystems. The efficiency of surface wave transformation by the domain wall motion is estimated in terms of energy. The frequency dependences of the mean energy density of the wave are found. It is shown that the energy density grows with wall velocity.     

Roles of the magnetic field and electric current in thermally activated domain wall motion in a submicrometer magnetic strip with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

We have experimentally studied micrometer-scale domain wall (DW) motion driven by a magnetic field and an electric current in a Co/Pt multilayer strip with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The thermal activation energy for DW motion, along with its scaling with the driving field and current, has been extracted directly from the temperature dependence of the DW velocity. The injection of DC current resulted in an enhancement of the DW velocity independent of the current polarity, but produced no measurable change in the activation energy barrier. Through this analysis, the observed current-induced DW velocity enhancement can be entirely and unambiguously attributed to Joule heating.     

Stress dependence of the domain wall dynamics in the adiabatic regime

In this work, we determine the domain wall velocity in the low field region and study the domain dynamics in as-cast and annealed bi-stable amorphous glass-covered Fe_77.5Si_7.5B₁₅ microwires. In particular, from the relation between the domain wall velocity and magnetic field in the adiabatic regime, the power-law critical exponent β, the critical field H₀ and the domain wall damping η were obtained. It has been verified that the main source of domain wall damping is the eddy current and spin relaxation, both with a strong relation with the magnetoelastic energy. This energy term is changed by the axial applied stress, which, by its time, modifies the damping mechanisms. It was also verified that the domain wall damping terms present different behavior at low (mainly eddy currents) and high applied stress (spin relaxation).     

外周期驱动场作用下介观铁磁畴的共振运动

从铁磁畴的能量方程出发，利用正则量子化方法和么正变换技术，解析地求得了磁畴量子化运动的波函数。结果表明，即令磁畴的本征频率与外加周期驱动场频率不一致，磁畴的运动仍能表现出精确共振行为。另外，磁畴量子化运动的涨落只受阻尼力的影响，而完全与外加周期驱动场无关。     

Influence of current on field-driven domain wall motion in permalloy nanowires from time resolved measurements of anisotropic magnetoresistance

The motion of magnetic domain walls in permalloy nanowires is investigated by real-time resistance measurements. The domain wall velocity is measured as a function of the magnetic field in the presence of a current flowing through the nanowire. We show that the current can significantly increase or decrease the domain wall velocity, depending on its direction. These results are understood within a one-dimensional model of the domain wall dynamics which includes the spin transfer torque.     

Structure and dynamic properties of the twisted magnetic domain wall in an electric field

The structure of the domain wall in a magnetically uniaxial ferromagnetic film placed in an external electric field has been studied. It has been shown that the domain wall has a complex twisted structure whose characteristics (thickness, profile, and limit velocity of steady motion) depend on the film thickness, quality factor, and external electric field. The effect of the electric field on the domain wall is caused by inhomogeneous magnetoelectric coupling taking place in domain walls with a twisted structure.     

Universal magnetic domain wall dynamics in the presence of weak disorder

The motion of elastic interfaces in disordered media is a broad topic relevant to many branches of physics. Field-driven magnetic domain wall motion in ultrathin ferromagnetic Pt/Co/Pt films can be well interpreted within the framework of theories developed to describe elastic interface dynamics in the presence of weak disorder. Indeed, the three theoretically predicted dynamic regimes of creep, depinning, and flow have all been directly evidenced in this model experimental system. We discuss these dynamic regimes and demonstrate how field-driven creep can be controlled not only by temperature and pinning, but also via interactions with magnetic entities located inside or outside the magnetic layer. Consequences of confinement effects in nano-devices are briefly reviewed, as some recent results on domain wall motion driven by an electric current or assisted by an electric field. Finally new theoretical developments and perspectives are discussed.     

Effect of a planar magnetic field on the domain wall dynamics in a double-layer uniaxial magnetic film

Motion of an isolated domain wall in a double-layer uniaxial magnetic film, where the film layers differ in characteristic length, saturation magnetization and damping parameter, is investigated by solving the Slonczewski equation. A planar magnetic field is applied normal to the domain-wall plane. The dependences of the threshold field and limiting velocity of disruption of the steady-state motion of the domain wall on the planar magnetic field value are obtained. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 12, pp. 60–63, December, 2008.     

Three-dimensional simulation of nonlinear dynamics of domain walls in films with perpendicular anisotropy

A three-dimensional computer simulation of static magnetization configurations and dynamic processes occurring in a domain wall moving in a uniaxial magnetic film with perpendicular anisotropy has been performed based on the numerical solution of Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equations. The calculated static states correspond to a domain wall containing Bloch lines with a surface magnetization distribution that depends on the thickness of the film. It has been shown that these structures can be characterized by particular values of the homotopy index. It has been found that the vortex and antivortex structures existing in the bulk of the film form vortex filaments. A method has been proposed for visualization of the joint motion of vortex filaments and Bloch points, which is based on the numerical calculation of the homotopy index and the winding number.     

Mechanism of the motion of domain walls with spin wave radiation in uniaxial magnetic films

It is shown, using the example of epitaxial ferrite—garnet films with (111) orientation whose dimensionless damping parameter was varied over a wide range, that for uniaxial magnetic films the mechanism of the motion of the domain walls is universal and includes local rotation of the magnetization ahead of the moving domain wall. The threshold field for the transition to this mechanism of motion of the domain walls is proportional to the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy field. On the curve of the dependence of the domain wall velocity on the acting magnetic field, this mechanism corresponds to the section with increased differential mobility of the domain walls. Magnitooptoelktronika Joint Self-Financing Laboratory, N. R. Ogarev Institute of General Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Mordovian State University. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 7, pp. 9–14, July, 1997.     

Magneto-optical and micromagnetic simulation study of the current-driven domain wall motion in ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As

We have studied current-driven domain wall motion in modified Ga_0.95Mn_0.05As Hall bar structures with perpendicular anisotropy by using spatially resolved polar magneto-optical Kerr effect microscopy and micromagnetic simulation. Regardless of the initial magnetic configuration, the domain wall propagates in the opposite direction to the current with critical current of 1-2×10⁵ A/cm². Considering the spin-transfer torque term as well as various effective magnetic field terms, the micromagnetic simulation results are consistent with the experimental results. Our simulated and experimental results suggest that the spin-torque rather than Oersted field is the reason for current-driven domain wall motion in this material.     

Influence of three-dimensional inhomogeneities of the magnetic parameters on the dynamics of vortex-like domain walls

The interaction of a vortex-like domain wall moving in an external magnetic field with a three-dimensional periodic chain of cubic volumes with high values of the saturation magnetization and magnetic anisotropy constant has been investigated theoretically. It has been found that the result of the interaction depends on the initial distance between the wall and the region of inhomogeneity of magnetic parameters at the moment of turning on the external magnetic field. The pinning of domain walls near the regions with high values of the saturation magnetization and magnetic anisotropy constant has been investigated, and the anisotropy of the corresponding depinning fields has been revealed. The method of investigation is the numerical micromagnetic simulation.