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Numerical investigation of domain walls in constrained geometries

Numerical investigation of domain walls in constrained geometries
Numerical investigation of domain walls in constrained geometries
In recent years, magnetic domain wall structures in ferromagnetic nanowires have attracted growing attention, opening paths to develop novel devices which exploit magnetoresistive effects. A reduction of the domain wall length in geometrically constrained areas has been predicted and observed. In this article, we consider a rectangular constriction (width s0, length 2d0) in form of a thin film, attached to a rectangular pad (width s1) on either side. The material considered is Ni (Ms = 490 kA/m) with a weak in-plane anisotropy (K1 = 2000 J/m3). We investigate the dependence of the domain wall length as a function of the constriction geometry. Micromagnetic simulations are used to systematically study the head-to-head domain walls between head-to-head domains (case A) and N´eel walls between sidewise domain orientations (case B). We present the resulting domain wall length w as a function of 2d0 and s0 and analyze the magnetization patterns. A reduction of the domain wall length to below 11nm is found (where the corresponding unconstrained domain wall length is 69nm). For constriction lengths above a critical value (case B only), the single 180 domain wall splits into two 90 domain walls.
Fangohr, Hans
2c911050-c8a6-485d-8241-983d46b8edb7
Zimmermann, Jürgen P.
9153a646-6cb4-40d7-99eb-9db4035e2b17
Boardman, Richard P.
5818d677-5732-4e8a-a342-7164dbb10df1
C. Gonzalez, David
b9afc81e-5887-47b2-a16a-c6d10ee1396a
de Groot, Cornelis H.
92cd2e02-fcc4-43da-8816-c86f966be90c
Fangohr, Hans
2c911050-c8a6-485d-8241-983d46b8edb7
Zimmermann, Jürgen P.
9153a646-6cb4-40d7-99eb-9db4035e2b17
Boardman, Richard P.
5818d677-5732-4e8a-a342-7164dbb10df1
C. Gonzalez, David
b9afc81e-5887-47b2-a16a-c6d10ee1396a
de Groot, Cornelis H.
92cd2e02-fcc4-43da-8816-c86f966be90c

Fangohr, Hans, Zimmermann, Jürgen P., Boardman, Richard P., C. Gonzalez, David and de Groot, Cornelis H. (2008) Numerical investigation of domain walls in constrained geometries. Journal of Applied Physics, 103 (7), [07D926]. (doi:10.1063/1.2838474).

Record type: Article

Abstract

In recent years, magnetic domain wall structures in ferromagnetic nanowires have attracted growing attention, opening paths to develop novel devices which exploit magnetoresistive effects. A reduction of the domain wall length in geometrically constrained areas has been predicted and observed. In this article, we consider a rectangular constriction (width s0, length 2d0) in form of a thin film, attached to a rectangular pad (width s1) on either side. The material considered is Ni (Ms = 490 kA/m) with a weak in-plane anisotropy (K1 = 2000 J/m3). We investigate the dependence of the domain wall length as a function of the constriction geometry. Micromagnetic simulations are used to systematically study the head-to-head domain walls between head-to-head domains (case A) and N´eel walls between sidewise domain orientations (case B). We present the resulting domain wall length w as a function of 2d0 and s0 and analyze the magnetization patterns. A reduction of the domain wall length to below 11nm is found (where the corresponding unconstrained domain wall length is 69nm). For constriction lengths above a critical value (case B only), the single 180 domain wall splits into two 90 domain walls.

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Published date: 2008
Organisations: Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 266012
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/266012
PURE UUID: ccb947d1-3ef4-4be0-a1f8-aa469e3e29d6
ORCID for Richard P. Boardman: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4008-0098
ORCID for Cornelis H. de Groot: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3850-7101

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 30 Jun 2008 14:36
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:17

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Contributors

Author: Hans Fangohr
Author: Jürgen P. Zimmermann
Author: David C. Gonzalez

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