Dynamics of solenoidal magnetic structures in soft magnetic thin-film elements

We report on the dynamics of magnetic domain structure conversions exhibited by soft magnetic thin-film elements of elementary geometrical shape (square, disc, triangle) when exposed to a strong external magnetic field. Starting from flux closure vortex patterns, the magnetic structures evolve towards an in-plane saturated state under the influence of an external field. This irreversible and nucleation-free magnetization process occurs on the time scale of picoseconds. The details of this conversion are investigated by means of a time-resolved micromagnetic finite element modeling. We find a sensitive dependence of the temporal evolution of the magnetic structure on the value of the damping parameter in Gilbert's equation of motion. In the case of high damping, domain wall motion dominates the process, while lower damping leads to the formation of a 360° wall which collapses by emitting magnetization waves. It is shown that the mobility of vortices is generally much lower than that of domain walls. The calculations indicate that at a low damping, a magnetic vortex can act almost as a source for concentric waves in ferromagnetic thin-film elements.     

Fractal model of magnetization reversal in a strained garnet ferrite film

The domain structure in strained garnet ferrite films and its behavior in an external magnetic field are studied using the Faraday effect. Based on the experimental results, a model of magnetization reversal in thin polycrystalline layers is proposed that describes the process of remagnetization as the development of fractal clusters. The model proposed is verified using a computer simulation of magnetization reversal.     

The description of the domain structure in thin ferromagnetic films with thickness near the critical value

The magnetization distribution is considered in a thin ferromagnetic film of a thickness near the critical value, for which the continuous phase transition from the homogeneous magnetization state to the domain structure appears. The easy axis of the magnetization is perpendicular to the film plane and the anisotropy constant β < 4π. On the basis of the self-consistent theory the vortex-like magnetization distribution in the interdomain wall was obtained. The value of the critical thickness, the period of the domain structure and the amplitudes of the magnetization vector components as dependent on the film parameters were derived.     

Magnetization of the ferromagnetic-superconductor structures

The magnetization of a structure consisting of a thin superconducting film lying on a thin ferromagnetic substrate with uniaxial anisotropy is considered. It is shown that if a ferromagnet is in a multidomain state, then due to the presence of a superconducting film, the period of its domain structures decreases, which is caused by the increase of the magnetostatic energy of the system owing to Meissner currents. In a certain range of the constant of uniaxial anisotropy, under the action of a superconducting film, a domain structure may transform from a strip structure to the structure with closure domains. It is found that due to the nonuniform magnetic field of a multidomain ferromagnet, Abrikosov vortices may exist in a thin film only at certain parameters of the magnetic field.     

Domain wall pinning controlled by the magnetic field of four nanoparticles in a ferromagnetic nanowire

This paper presents the results of theoretical and experimental investigations of the domain wall pinning in a planar ferromagnetic system consisting of a nanowire and four rectangular uniformly magnetized nanoparticles located at an angle to the nanowire axis. Based on the calculations of the interaction energy of the domain wall with stray fields of nanoparticles and the micromagnetic simulation, it has been demonstrated that, in this system, there are different variants of the domain wall pinning, which are determined by the relative orientation of the magnetic moments of nanoparticles and the magnetization of the nanowire. The possibility of the creation of magnetic logic cells based on the structures under consideration has been discussed.     

Monte carlo simulation of magnetization and coercivity of free magnetic clusters

Based on Monte Carlo method, the oscillatory behaviour of the average magnetic moment as a function of the cluster sizes and the temperature dependences of magnetic moment with different sizes have been studied. It is found that the oscillations superimposed on the decreasing moment are associated with not only the geometrical structure effects but also the thermal fluctuation. The hystereses and thermal coercivities for free clusters with zero and finite uniaxial anisotropies have been calculated. The simulated thermal dependence of the coercivity is consistent with the experimental result, but does not fit the T^α law in the whole temperature range. It is evident that an easy magnetization direction and an anisotropy resulting from the spin configurations exist in the free clusters with the pure exchange interaction, which is also proved by the natural angle and energy distribution of clusters. A systematic theoretical analysis is also made to establish the relationship between natural angle and coercivity.     

Current-induced motion of a domain wall in a multilayer structure: Pressure vs torque

The problem of current-induced motion of a solitary domain wall in a free layer of the spin-valve structure is considered; the current flows perpendicularly to the structure layers. The action of the longitudinal and transverse components of the nonequilibrium polarization of the carriers injected into the free layer on the magnetization is analyzed.     

Magnetic moments and adiabatic magnetization of free cobalt clusters

Magnetizations and magnetic moments of free cobalt clusters Co(N) (12 < N < 200) in a cryogenic (25 K < or = T < or = 100 K) molecular beam were determined from Stern-Gerlach deflections. All clusters preferentially deflect in the direction of the increasing field and the average magnetization resembles the Langevin function for all cluster sizes even at low temperatures. We demonstrate in the avoided crossing model that the average magnetization may result from adiabatic processes of rotating and vibrating clusters in the magnetic field and that spin relaxation is not involved. This resolves a long-standing problem in the interpretation of cluster beam deflection experiments with implications for nanomagnetic systems in general.     

Magnetization processes in the narrow domain structures of amorphous ferromagnetic alloys

The magnetization processes within the narrow domain laminae of amorphous ferromagnetic alloys have been investigated by means of the magneto-optical Kerr effect. Changes of the domain width of the closure domains by a magnetic field applied perpendicular to the laminae have been determined for the alloys Fe₈₀B₂₀ and Fe₄₀Ni₄₀P₁₄B₆. These results are compared with theoretical calculations, assuming that wall displacements within the closure domains and rotations of the magnetization in the bulk domains take place simultaneously and a stray field free domain structure is developed. It turned out, that the closure domain structure on the surface of the sample vanishes at the same magnetic field where magnetic saturation is approached.     

Spin-injection mechanism of magnetization reversal and hysteresis of current in magnetic junctions

A novel mechanism is proposed for magnetization reversal by the current of magnetic junctions with two metallic ferromagnetic layers and thin separating nonmagnetic layer. The spin-polarized current flows perpendicularly to the interfaces between the ferromagnetic layers, in one of which the spins are pinned and in the other they are free. No domain structure is formed in the ferromagnetic layers. The current breaks spin equilibrium in the free layer, which manifests itself in the injection or extraction of spins. The nonequilibrium spins interact with the magnetization of the lattice due to the effective field of s-d exchange, which is current dependent. At currents exceeding a certain threshold value, this interaction leads to magnetization reversal. Two threshold currents for magnetization reversal have been obtained theoretically, which are reached as the current increases or decreases, respectively. Thus, the phenomenon of current hysteresis is found. The calculated results are in good agreement with experiments on magnetization reversal by current in three-layer junctions of composition Co(I)/Cu/Co(II) prepared in a pillar form.     

Magnetization distribution in magneto-optical medium on patterned substrate

A micromagnetic calculation of magnetization in a ferromagnetic thin film with a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy fabricated on a patterned substrate is carried out. The domain wall energy of pinning of domain walls between up and down magnetized domains is shown to be determined by geometry of substrate. Estimations of regions of stability of two different domain structures in the hexagonal lattice of circle patches are given.     

Visualization of the Barkhausen effect by magnetic force microscopy

By visualization of the Barkhausen effect using magnetic force microscopy we are able to provide detailed information about the physical principles that govern the magnetization reversal of a granular ferromagnetic thin film with perpendicular anisotropy. Individual Barkhausen volumes are localized and distinguished as either newly nucleated or grown by domain wall propagation. The Gaussian size distribution of nucleated Barkhausen volumes indicates an uncorrelated random process, while grown Barkhausen volumes exhibit an inverse power law distribution, which points towards a critical behavior during domain wall motion.     

Switching of a spin valve with three magnetic layers

A spin valve with two pinned ferromagnetic layers sandwiching a free ferromagnetic layer with a thickness smaller than the spin diffusion length in the same layer and than the domain wall thickness is considered. The instability conditions are determined for various mutual orientations of the magnetization of the layers. The possibility of a considerable decrease in the instability threshold due to joint action of spin-polarized current and an external magnetic field is indicated. It is shown that in addition to collinear states, a nonequilibrium noncollinear state can exist, into which the system is switched after exceeding the instability threshold.     

Generation of mesoscopic magnetic structures by local laser action

New effects are observed wherein the internal structure of the domain walls in a thin magnetic iron garnet film are modified by the action of focused laser radiation. A single laser pulse with increasing power gives rise to the following: 1) displacement of vertical Bloch lines in a domain wall; 2) generation of a pair of vertical Bloch lines on initially line-free walls; and, 3) an irreversible change in shape of a domain wall and the domain structure as a whole. The mechanism leading to the generation and displacement of Bloch lines is connected with the motion of domain walls which is induced by a local change in the distribution of demagnetizing fields as a result of a heating-induced decrease of the magnetization in the focal spot of the laser radiation. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 66, No. 6, 398–402 (25 September 1997)     

Explicit solutions to phenomenological models of magnetization reversal of thin ferromagnetic films in the presence of a sawtooth magnetic field

Explicit solutions are derived for several phenomenological models of magnetization reversal in thin ferromagnetic films driven by a sawtooth magnetic field. For a domain wall velocity that is linear in the magnetic field, it is found that the dynamic coercive field follows a square-root power-law in the slope of the magnetic field, shifted by the depinning field. For a more general domain wall velocity different power-law exponents are found, yet the overall form for the scaling of the area of the hysteresis loop remains a power-law shifted by the depinning field. This shifted power-law could be interpreted to be a crossover between adiabatic and dynamic regimes.     

Magnetic domain wall propagation unto the percolation threshold across a pseudorectangular disordered lattice

The reversal process of thin FePt/Pt(001) layers with perpendicular magnetization was observed by magnetic imaging techniques. Reversal occurs through domain wall propagation across a strongly disordered rectangular lattice of linear anisotropy defects. Micromagnetic simulations of domain wall pinning allowed deriving an analytical model of the reversal process unto percolation threshold. Quantitative agreement is found between the calculated and experimental fractal dimension of the reversed domain.     

Spontaneous and Induced Magnetization Reversal in Thin GaMnSb Films

The time, temperature, and magnetic field dependences of the magnetic moment of thin GaMnSb films containing MnSb clusters are measured using a SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device) magnetometer. It is found that magnetic field-induced magnetization reversal and thermally activated spontaneous magnetization reversal in thin GaMnSb films are interrelated as follows: the maximum of the magnetic-field dependence of the magnetic viscosity coincides with the coercive force for the samples.     

Nonlinear domain-wall dynamics in a system of two magnetic layers

The nonlinear dynamics of the magnetization in a spin-valve structure is investigated. Equations describing the dynamics of the magnetization in such a structure are obtained. The stability of the solution corresponding to a motionless flat domain wall is investigated. The nonlinear domain-wall dynamics are investigated in the approximation of a strong exchange interaction between the magnetic layers and in the approximation of a large magnetostatic energy. In the former case the nonlinear dynamical equations are shown to be similar to the equations describing the dynamics of the magnetization in a weak ferromagnet, and in the latter case they are similar to the equations of motion of a magnetic vortex (i.e., a vertical Bloch line) in a domain wall. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 116, 1365–1374 (October 1999)     

Magnetization reversal processes in layered high-temperature superconductors with ferromagnetic impurities

The self-consistent interaction of a vortex system of a high-temperature superconductor and ferromagnetic impurities, including single impurities and their clusters, has been considered in the model of a layered high-temperature superconductor. For different temperatures and concentrations of ferromagnetic impurities, the magnetization reversal loops have been calculated by the Monte Carlo method taking into account an ensemble of ferromagnetic particles with different orientations of their easy magnetization axes with respect to the direction of an external magnetic field and for different magnetic anisotropy energies. It has been demonstrated that there is a nonlinear interaction of the high-temperature superconductor with ferromagnetic impurities, in which the initially thermodynamically reversible character of the magnetization reversal of the ferromagnetic ensemble can become irreversible. For a periodic lattice of clusters of ferromagnetic impurities, the magnetization curves of the high-temperature superconductor have been calculated for different sizes and configurations of the clusters. It has been revealed that, when extended defects are oriented parallel to the direction of the entrance of vortices in the sample, the length of the defects does not affect the remanent magnetization. It has been shown that the inclusion of the interaction between the magnetic moments inside the impurity cluster leads to a decrease in the magnetization reversal loop, the coercivity, and, accordingly, the energy loss due to magnetization reversal.     

Anomalous magnetization processes and non-symmetrical domain wall displacements in L10 FePt particulate films

Anomalous magnetization processes and non-symmetrical domain wall displacements in the minor loop of L1₀ FePt particulate films were investigated by magnetization measurements and in situ magnetic force microscopy. Magnetization (M) decreases dramatically on increasing the magnetic field to ∼3 kOe after which M becomes small and constant in the range of 5–20 kOe as observed in the successive measurement of minor loops. The domain wall displacement is non-symmetrical with respect to the field direction. The anomalous magnetization behavior was attributed to the non-symmetrical domain wall displacement and large magnetic field required for domain wall nucleation. Energy calculations from modeling suggest that non-symmetrical domain wall displacement is caused by the existence of metastable domains in which the domain edges are stuck to the particle boundaries.