Control of domain-wall injection field with different nucleation pad geometry

It is experimentally reported herein that the injection field of domain walls (DWs) from the nucleation pad to the nanowire is controlled by the angle of the initializing magnetic field with the use of asymmetric sample structures. The injection field is abruptly varied twice between two distinct values at a certain angle. Micromagnetic simulation is used to model the injection of a DW into the nanowire with respect to the angle of the initializing magnetic field. This is ascribed to the different structure of the DW at the junction between the pad and the nanowire, resulting in the different pinning strength of the DW. These observations provide a way to control the injection field of DWs into nanostructures and give a possibility of the fast, reliable motion of the DW with field strengths less than the so-called Walker field on the nanowire by injecting the DW with a known magnetic structure.     

Oscillatory reduction of domain wall depinning field by transverse magnetic field in ferromagnetic permalloy nanowires

Reported herein is a possible way of controlling the depinning field of magnetic domain walls (DWs) by using a magnetic field H(T) transverse to the nanowire. A typical notch structure-in the form of triangles on both edges of ferromagnetic Permalloy nanowires-is employed to pin the DWs. The depinning field of the DW initially pinned at the notch is then measured with respect to H(T). Interestingly, it is experimentally found that the depinning field is drastically decreased to almost 0 with increasing H(T), due to the internal shift of the DW position at the notch. Moreover, it is experimentally observed that an oscillatory behavior of the depinning field occurs with respect to H(T), Micromagnetic calculation is performed to model the depinning behavior of the DW pinned at the notch structure with respect to H(T). It is ascribed to the natural edge roughness of the nanowire, which means the edge roughness plays an important role in determination of the depinning field.     

Characteristics of domain wall pinning and depinning in a three-terminal magnetic Y-junction

The characteristics of domain wall (DW) pinning and propagation in a three-terminal magnetic Y-junction were investigated, where the junction consisted of two input and one output wires. The output switching depends strongly on the junction angle (α). Junctions with high angles of α>9.5° lead to DW pinning at the junction, whereas junctions with low angles of α<9.5° have no DW pinning effect. At the critical angle of α = 9.5°, the Y-junction showed a multimode DW propagation, which was ascribed to a moderate transverse field effect.     

Vortex Self-Organization in the Presence of Magnetic Pinning Arrays

Lateral nanostructuring is an efficient tool to control vortex confinement in superconductors. This will be illustrated by studying pinning phenomena in type-II superconducting Pb films with a lattice of submicron magnetic dots. We consider rectangular Co dots with in-plane magnetization and circular Co/Pt dots with out-of-plane magnetization. The domain structure of the Co dots can be changed from multi- to single-domain, resulting in an enhancement of their stray field. After covering this Co dot array with a Pb film, we demonstrate the influence of the local magnetic stray field of the dots on their flux pinning efficiency. The Co/Pt dots have a single-domain structure with their magnetic moment out of plane. Depending on the magnetic history, the magnetic moment of all dots can be aligned in positive or negative direction, or a random distribution of positive and negative magnetic moments of the dots can be achieved. For a Pb film covering this Co/Pt dot array, we observe an asymmetric magnetization loop due to the magnetic interactions between the vortices and the magnetic dots.     

Pinning characteristics of domain wall in giant magnetoresistance spin valve stripe, consisting of a nano-wire and a circular ring

We investigated a technique for proving the pinning behaviors of a domain wall (DW) in spin-valve stripes with artificial configurations, which consist of a nano-wire, a large pad and sharp tip at the ends of the wire, and a circular ring at the center. It was found from the GMR measurement at various positions that a DW was pinned at a ring during DW's propagation from the side of pad to the side of tip. Micromagnetic simulation revealed that the initial onion magnetic states of the ring changes continuously to final reverse onion state via counterclockwise vortex state when a counterclockwise tail-to-tail DW pass through the ring. In addition, the simulation results indicated that the magnetic states at a circular ring were determined by the type and chirality of DW. We also studied the characteristics of domain wall motion in the same configuration, when the nano-ring was replaced with square and diamond structures.     

Observation of a Transition From Inverse-Spin-Switch to Spin-Switch Behavior in Domain State of a Py/Nb/Py Trilayer

We study spin switch behavior of the six bridges of bare, or pseudo spin-valve Py/Nb/Py trilayer prepared on a single chip. Magnetization measurement of both longitudinal and transverse moment on a large companion sample reveals that a significant amount of transverse component exists in the antiparallel domain (AD) state, which is originated in stray magnetic field from domain walls. The stray magnetic field induces flux lines into the Nb layer and the motion of these flux lines under the force exerted by the bias current is the main origin for inverse spin switch effect observed in the AD state of most bridges. In addition to inverse spin switch effect, we observe a peculiar behavior of a transition from inverse spin switch to spin switch behavior with decreasing temperature in one of six bridges. In order to understand the extraordinary behavior, we first note that the flux pinning should be present in this particular sample to suppress the dissipation by flux motion, then we propose that when the domain structure incidentally matches underlying distribution of pinning sites, spin switch effect in the AD state can occur by domain wall superconductivity and/or proximity effect.      

Superconducting Vortex Pinning with Magnetic Dots: Does Size and Magnetic Configuration Matter?

The pinning of superconducting vortices in type-II superconductors has been studied for a long time due to the wide variety of unusual flux flow phenomena and more importantly, for its relevance in applications, since vortex pinning is one of the essential parameters controlling the enhancement of critical currents. A case of particular interest is the use of artificial magnetic pinning centers, since they can be fabricated to match well the characteristic length scales relevant for superconductivity and their magnetization offers another degree of freedom to influence the pinning properties. This article reviews our work on the role of the size and separation of the magnetic dots. Furthermore, we also show that the magnetic configuration can influence significantly the pinning strength, through the magnetic stray fields penetrating the superconductor, which can be drastically different.     

Control of magnetic domains in Co/Pd multilayered nanowires with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

Magnetic domain wall (DW) motion induced by spin transfer torque in magnetic nanowires is of emerging technological interest for its possible applications in spintronic memory or logic devices. Co/Pd multilayered magnetic nanowires with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy were fabricated on the surfaces of Si wafers by ion-beam sputtering. The nanowires had different sized widths and pinning sites formed by an anodic oxidation method via scanning probe microscopy (SPM) with an MFM tip. The magnetic domain structure was changed by an anodic oxidation method. To discover the current-induced DW motion in the Co/Pd nanowires, we employed micromagnetic modeling based on the Landau-Lifschitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation. The split DW motions and configurations due to the edge effects of pinning site and nanowire appeared.     

Longitudinal critical current in type II superconductors. II. Helical vortex instability near the surface

The calculation of the critical current for helical instability of the flux-line lattice, performed in a previous paper for a bulk superconductor, is extended to include the effect of a planar surface. The extension is of interest since an applied longitudinal current in general flows near the surface before the helical instability of the flux-line lattice triggers the transition to the flux-flow state. The magnetic stray field of the surface increases the critical current by a factor 1.41 (1.34) for weak (moderate) pinning, and it modifies the axis ratio of the helices. The pitch length and the extension of the helical mode into the specimen are decreased from their bulk values by surface pinning, but they are slightly increased if bulk pinning dominates.     

Faster magnetic walls in rough wires

In some magnetic devices that have been proposed, the information is transmitted along a magnetic wire of submicrometre width by domain wall (DW) motion. The speed of the device is obviously linked to the DW velocity, and measured values up to 1 km x s(-1) have been reported in moderate fields. Although such velocities were already reached in orthoferrite crystal films with a high anisotropy, the surprise came from their observation in the low-anisotropy permalloy. We have studied, by numerical simulation, the DW propagation in such samples, and observed a very counter-intuitive behaviour. For perfect samples (no edge roughness), the calculated velocity increased with field up to a threshold, beyond which it abruptly decreased--a well-known phenomenon. However, for rough strip edges, the velocity breakdown was found to be suppressed. We explain this phenomenon, and propose that roughness should rather be engineered than avoided when fabricating nanostructures for DW propagation.     

Reducing hysteresis in magnetostrictive-piezoelectric magneticsensors

In this paper, we present a method to avoid hysteresis in magnetostrictive-piezoelectric sensors. It is based on the application of an alternating magnetic field of a frequency different than the piezoelectric exciting frequency that supplies enough energy to overcome any domain wall pinning. The signal is filtered with a notch filter synchronized to the magnetic field frequency and thus it does not contribute to the useful response of the sensor. The results show an appreciable decrease in the magnetic hysteresis and also a small decrease in the sensitivity of the sensor     

Vortex Dynamics in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 Single Crystal with Low Density Columnar Defects Studied by Magnetic Force Microscope

We have studied vortex dynamics in Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ single crystal with low density columnar defects by using a magnetic force microscope. Single crystal Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ sample was irradiated by 1.3 GeV uranium ion to form artificial pinning centers along the crystalline c-axis. The irradiation dose corresponded to a matching field of 20 gauss. The radius of an individual vortex is approximately 140 nm, which is close to the penetration depth of this material. Magnetic force microscope (MFM) images show that intrinsic crystalline defects such as stacking fault dislocations are very effective pinning centers for vortices in addition to the pinning centers due to ion bombardment. By counting the number of vortex, we found that the flux trapped at each pinning center is a single flux quantum. At higher magnetic field, the vortex structure showed an Abrikosov lattice disturbed only by immobile vortices located at pinning centers. When increasing or decreasing the external magnetic field, the spatial distribution of vortices showed a Bean model like behavior.     

Hot deformed anisotropic nanocrystalline NdFeB based magnets prepared from spark plasma sintered melt spun powders

Anisotropic magnets were prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) followed by hot deformation (HD) using melt-spun powders as the starting material. Good magnetic properties with the remanence J_r > 1.32 T and maximum of energy product (BH)_max > 303 kJ/m³ have been obtained. The microstructure evolution during HD and its influence on the magnetic properties were investigated. The fine grain zone and coarse grain zone formed in the SPS showed different deformation behaviors. The microstructure also had an important effect on the temperature coefficients of coercivity. A strong domain-wall pinning model was valid to interpret the coercivity mechanism of the HDed magnets. The increase of stray field and weakening of domain-wall pinning effects were the main reasons of the decrease of the coercivity with increasing the compression ratio. The influences of non-uniform plastic deformation on the microstructure and magnetic properties were investigated. The polarization characteristics of HDed magnets were demonstrated. It was found out that the HDed magnets had better corrosion resistance than the counterpart sintered magnet.     

Flux Pinning in YBCO Single Crystal Grown on Y<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> Layer

In this study, single-crystal Y123 samples were grown by a cold top-seeding method by using Nd123 seed, and the effect of Y₂O₃ buffer layer was investigated. The upper critical magnetic field and coherence length were established as 110 T and 17.3 ?, respectively. The dependence of the effective activation energy U of the flux pinning on the magnetic field and temperature of the sample were determined using the Arrhenius activation energy law from the resistivity curves. It was found that the deduced value of the activation energy for a Y123 sample is in good agreement with the corresponding values in YBCO samples. The maximum activation energy value was approximately 0.9 eV in the zero magnetic field. In order to examine the homogeneity of the pinning properties of different layers, rectangular specimens were cut from the sample. AC susceptibility measurement was performed, and it was found that the shifting of the peak temperature (T _p) with an AC magnetic field is small, indicating good pinning properties. The normalized pinning force density versus the reduced field was examined at different temperatures to determine the pinning mechanism. It was found that normal core-type pinning was effective, and in low fields, pinning was only due to Y211 particles.     

Electron-optical Observation of Magnetic Flux Quanta in Superconductors by Decoration and Vortex Microscopy

The stray field modulation of magnetic flux in superconductors can be converted into an optical or electron optical contrast by various decoration techniques, which are reviewed. Thin films decorated in this way are analysed in a transmission, scanning, or scanning transmission electron microscope and permit one to study the configuration of the magnetic flux relative to the crystalline structure. Results of electron interferometer experiments on the flux quantization in small superconducting hollow cylinders, on the motion of single flux quanta, and on their pinning forces at grain boundaries, will be surveyed.     

Micromagnetic Study of Forced Oscillation of Magnetic Domain Wall in Ferromagnetic Nanowires with Variation of Damping Constant

We have investigated a DW motion driven by AC external field with a variation of damping parameter ?? in Landau?CLifshitz?CGilbert equation as well as a variation of an oscillating force frequency by means of a micromagnetic simulation. Straight ferromagnetic wires having a DW at the wire center is considered, where the DW is assumed to behave like a free quasiparticle. With variation of strength and frequency of the external AC field, we have observed that relative phase delays between the forced DW motion and the AC field depends on the damping constant. The overall behavior is explainable with a single-degree-of-freedom model of a damped forced oscillation without a restoring force.     

Longitudinal recording in a stray field

We have studied the sensitivity of soft error rate (SER) to an external magnetic field in longitudinal hard disk drives. We found that during writing SER is generally quadratic with field amplitude and symmetric with field direction. The application of an external field during writing also shifts the center of the track. In contrast, during reading SER is predominantly linear with field amplitude and antisymmetric with field direction. There is no shift in the track center when the field is applied during reading up to 100 Oe. We explain the difference in the track center shift between writing and reading in terms of the effect of the stray field on the servo positioning system.     

On the Scaling Law of the Pinning Force in MgB2 Superconducting Composites with Magnetic Nanoinclusions

Dense superconducting composites with magnetic nanoparticles were prepared by spark plasma sintering. In addition to structure and magnetic properties, we focused on the pinning properties as described by the field and temperature dependence of the scaled pinning force analyzed. We found that the pinning force does not obey any scaling law and attributed this effect to the anisotropy of the MgB₂ and the almost random distribution of the orientation of the superconducting grains within the polycrystalline sample.     

Design of low-haze holographic notch filters

We have studied the optical quality of holographic notch filters and have identified that stray illumination during the exposure stage and substrate scatter are the limiting factors. We propose and analyze a novel holographic recording scheme in which the substrate is rotated during exposure. Using this method, we have produced high-uniformity, flare-free dichromated gelatin notch filters with optical density greater than 5 and with scatter comparable with that from polished substrates.     

Enhancement in High-Field J c Properties and the Flux Pinning Mechanism of MgB2 Thin Films on Crystalline SiC Buffer Layers

We have studied the influence of crystalline SiC buffer layers on the critical current density and on the flux pinning mechanism in MgB₂ thin films. Crystalline SiC buffer layers were deposited on the Al₂O₃ (0001) substrates by using a pulsed laser deposition method, and then MgB₂ thin films were grown on the SiC-buffered layer by using a hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition technique. MgB₂ thin films with crystalline SiC-buffered layers showed a significant critical current density’s enhancement in the high magnetic field region. An uncommon plateau-like behavior was also observed when the normalized flux pinning force density was scaled with the reduced magnetic field. Based on the analyses of the scaling behavior of the flux pinning force, grain boundary pinning is likely to be a dominant pinning mechanism in the SiC-buffered MgB₂ thin films.