We explore the magnetic-field-driven motion of domain walls with different chiralities in thin ferromagnetic films made of Pt/Co/Pt, Au/Co/Pt, and Pt/Co/Au. From the analysis of domain wall dynamics, we extract parameters characterizing the interaction between domain walls and weak pinning disorder of the films. The variations of domain wall structure, controlled by an in-plane field, are found to modify the characteristic length-scale of pinning in strong correlation with the domain wall width, whatever its chirality and the interaction strength between domain walls and pinning defects. These findings should be also relevant for a wide variety of elastic interfaces moving in weak pinning disordered media.
We report a comparative study of magnetic field driven domain wall motion in thin films made of different magnetic materials for a wide range of field and temperature. The full thermally activated creep motion, observed below the depinning threshold, is shown to be described by a unique universal energy barrier function. Our findings should be relevant for other systems whose dynamics can be modeled by elastic interfaces moving on disordered energy landscapes.
The propagation of domain walls in a ferromagnetic film is largely determined by domain wall pinning at defects in the material. In this letter we map the effective potential landscape for domain wall pinning in Permalloy films by raster scanning a single ferromagnetic vortex and monitoring the hysteretic vortex displacement vs. applied magnetic field. The measurement is carried out using a differential magneto-optical microscopy technique which yields spatial sensitivity $\sim 10$ nm. We present a simple algorithm for extracting an effective pinning potential from the measurement of vortex di…
We report the results of experimental investigations of controlled domain wall (DW) pinning in a ferromagnetic nanowire (NW) by stray fields of two uniformly magnetized bistable ferromagnetic nanoparticles (NPs) placed on either side of the NW and elongated parallel to the NW axis. We show by magnetic force microscopy measurements that DW pinning strength essentially depends on the orientation of the NP magnetic moments relative to the NW magnetization and can reach 20 mT. We also performed micromagnetic simulations confirming the influence of the magnetostatic interaction of the DW with the N…
We represent the results of micromagnetic modeling and experimental magnetic force microscopy investigations of domain wall (DW) pinning-depinning effects in the hybrid systems consisting of ferromagnetic nanowire (NW) and two ferromagnetic nanoparticles (NPs). It was demonstrated that the special NW-NPs configuration including the NW with DW nucleating bulb at one end and two-NP gate enables the realization of controlled DW pinning-depinning based on switching of magnetization in NPs subsystem. The algorithm of external driving field manipulation and independent NPs switching, which allow one…
We present a quantitative investigation of magnetic domain wall pinning in thin magnets with perpendicular anisotropy. A self-consistent description exploiting the universal features of the depinning and thermally activated sub-threshold creep regimes observed in the field driven domain wall velocity, is used to determine the effective pinning parameters controlling the domain wall dynamics: the effective height of pinning barriers, the depinning threshold, and the velocity at depinning. Within this framework, the analysis of results published in the literature allows for a quantitative compar…
We demonstrate that for multilayered magnetic nanowires, where the thickness and composition of the individual layers has been carefully chosen, domain walls can be pinned at non-topographic sites created purely by ion irradiation in a focused ion beam system. The pinning results from irradiation induced alloying leading to magnetic property modification only in the affected regions. Using Lorentz transmission electron microscopy, we have studied the pinning behavior of domain walls at the irradiation sites. Depending on the irradiation dose, a single line feature not only pinned the domain wa…
This is an analytical study of pinning and spontaneous vortex phase is a system consisting of a superconducting thin film pierced by a long ferromagnetic columnar defect of finite radius $R$. The magnetic fields, screening currents, energy and pinning forces for this system are calculated. The interaction between the magnetic field of vortices and the magnetization outside the plane of the film and its close proximity enhances vortex pinning significantly. Spontaneous vortex phase appears when the magnetization of the columnar defect is increased above a critical value. Transitions between pha…
We report measurements of microwave spectra of two-dimensional electron systems hosted in dilute Al alloy, Al$_x$Ga$_{1-x}$As, for a range of Landau level fillings, $ν$, around 1. For $ν>0.8$ or $ν<1.2$, the samples exhibit a microwave resonance whose frequency decreases as $ν$ moves away from 1. A resonance with this behavior is the signature of solids of quasiparticles or -holes in the partially occupied Landau level, which was previously seen in ultralow disorder samples. For $ν<0.8$ down to as low as $ν=0.54$, a resonance in the spectra is still present in the Al alloy-disordered samples, …
For a series of samples with 2D electron systems in dilute Al_x Ga_{1-x}As, with varying x from 0 to 0.8 %, we survey the pinning mode resonances of Wigner solids at the low Landau filling termination of the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) series. For all x studied, the pinning modes are present with frequencies, f_pk, that are consistent with collective weak pinning. For x>=0.22% we find f_pk vs B exhibits a rapid increase that is not present for x=0. We find the observed f_pk is much smaller than values calculated with a simple Wigner solid model which neglects the effects of the disor…
Spin waves are investigated in Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) waveguides with a thickness of 39 nm and widths ranging down to 50 nm, i.e., with aspect ratios thickness over width approaching unity, using Brillouin Light Scattering spectroscopy. The experimental results are verified by a semi-analytical theory and micromagnetic simulations. A critical width is found, below which the exchange interaction suppresses the dipolar pinning phenomenon. This changes the quantization criterion for the spin-wave eigenmodes and results in a pronounced modification of the spin-wave characteristics. The presente…
We have studied the effect of He$^+$ irradiation on the dynamics of chiral domain walls in Pt/Co/AlOx trilayers in the creep regime. The irradiation leads to a strong decrease of the depinning field and a non-monotonous change of the effective pinning barriers. The variations of domain wall dynamics result essentially from the strong decrease of the effective anisotropy constant, which increases the domain wall width. The latter is found to present a perfect scaling with the length-scale of the interaction between domain wall and disorder, $ξ$. On the other hand, the strength of the domain wal…
The pinning of flux lines by two different types of regular arrays of submicron magnetic dots is studied in superconducting Pb films; rectangular Co dots with in-plane magnetization are used as pinning centers to investigate the influence of the magnetic stray field of the dots on the pinning phenomena, whereas multilayered Co/Pt dots with out-of-plane magnetization are used to study the magnetic interaction between the flux lines and the magnetic moment of the dots. For both types of pinning arrays, matching anomalies are observed in the magnetization curves versus perpendicular applied field…
The coupling between a current and a Bloch wall is examined in the half-metal limit of the double exchange model. The conduction electrons transfer angular momentum to the Bloch wall with 100% efficiency in the absence of pinning. The wall is displaced without distortion with velocity proportional to the current. In the presence of a pinning potential either the angular momentum is destroyed by the perpendicular component of the anisotropy field or is converted to coherent magnons. A moving wall has its velocity reduced by pinning. The expression for the velocity agrees surprisingly well with …
We study the general problem of a manifold of interacting elastic lines whose spatial correlations are strongly affected by the competition between random and ordered pinning. This is done through magneto-transport experiments with YBa2Cu3O7-d thin films that contain a periodic vortex pinning array created via masked ion irradiation, in addition to the native random pinning. The strong field-matching effects we observe suggest the prevalence of periodic pinning, and indicate that at the matching field each vortex line is bound to an artificial pinning site. However, the vortex-glass transition…
We study the anisotropic pinning-mode resonances in the rf conductivity spectra of the stripe phase of 2D electron systems (2DES) around Landau level filling 9/2, in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field, B_ip. The polarization along which the resonance is observed switches as B_ip is applied, consistent with the reorientation of the stripes. The resonance frequency, a measure of the pinning interaction between the 2DES and disorder, increases with B_ip. The magnitude of this increase indicates that disorder interaction is playing an important role in determining the stripe orientation.
We use the high spatial sensitivity of the anomalous Hall effect in the ferromagnetic semiconductor Ga1-xMnxAs, combined with the magneto-optical Kerr effect, to probe the nanoscale elastic flexing behavior of a single magnetic domain wall in a ferromagnetic thin film. Our technique allows position sensitive characterization of the pinning site density, which we estimate to be around 10^14 cm^{-3}. Analysis of single site depinning events and their temperature dependence yields estimates of pinning site forces (10 pN range) as well as the thermal deactivation energy. Finally, our data hints at…
We propose a method to all-electrically control a domain-wall position in a ferromagnetic nanowire with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. The strength of this interaction can be controlled by an external electric field, which in turn allows a fine tuning of the pinning potential of a spin-spiral domain wall. It allows to create more mobile pinning sites and can also be advantageous for ultra-low power electronics.
We utilize a focused beam of Ga+ ions to define magnetization pinning sites in a ferromagnetic epilayer of (Ga,Mn)As. The nonmagnetic defects locally increase the magneto-crystalline anisotropy energies, by which a domain wall is pinned at a given position. We demonstrate techniques for manipulating domain walls at these pinning sites as probed with the giant planar Hall effect (GPHE). By varying the magnetic field angle relative to the crystal axes, an upper limit is placed on the local effective anisotropy energy.
We study the transport properties of vortex matter in a superconducting thin film separated by a thin insulator layer from a ferromagnetic layer. We assume an alternating stripe structure for both FM and SC layers as found in [7]. We calculate the periodic pinning force in the stripe structure resulting from a highly inhomogeneous distribution of the vortices and antivortices. We show that the transport properties in FM-SC bilayer are highly anisotropic. In the absence of random pinning it displays a finite resistance for the current perpendicular to stripes and is superconducting for the curr…
The theory of elasticity and pinning of domain walls in helical magnets is presented. Domain walls perpendicular to the helical axis show non-local elasticity and are marginally pinned by local disorder. Weak anisotropy combined with magnetic dilution leads however to a non-local bulk pinning effect. Domain walls with other orientations include generically vortex arrays, similar to type-II superconductors. Their pinning force is calculated as a function of wall orientation, pitch angle and impurity concentration. It is shown that metastable domains can vary between needle and pancake like shap…
Simultaneous imaging of the piezoresponse phase, amplitude and bare surface topography of displacive ferroelectric thin films by scanning probe microscopy directly shows the nature of domain wall pinning and its relation to morphological disorder. Strong and stable pinning of walls occurs at grain boundaries while weak and unstable pinning occurs within the grains. The results show that polarization reversal consists of both nucleation of domains and spreading of domain walls, the latter being the dominant process in multi-grain regions. A characteristic single-grain switching in faceted grain…
We study the effect of disorder on the dynamics of a transverse domain wall in ferromagnetic nanostrips, driven either by magnetic fields or spin-polarized currents, by performing a large ensemble of GPU-accelerated micromagnetic simulations. Disorder is modeled by including small, randomly distributed non-magnetic voids in the system. Studying the domain wall velocity as a function of the applied field and current density reveals fundamental differences in the domain wall dynamics induced by these two modes of driving: For the field-driven case, we identify two different domain wall pinning m…
We study a model of \textit{pinned} bilayer Wigner crystals (WC) and focus on the effects of interlayer coherence (IC) on pinning. We consider both a pseudospin ferromagnetic WC (FMWC) with IC and a pseudospin antiferromagnetic WC (AFMWC) without IC. Our central finding is that a FMWC can be pinned more strongly due to the presence of IC. One specific mechanism is through the disorder induced interlayer tunneling, which effectively manifests as an extra pinning in a FMWC. We also construct a general "effective disorder" model and effective pinning Hamiltonian for the case of FMWC and AFMWC res…
A theoretical study of the current-driven dynamics of magnetic skyrmions in disordered perpendicularly-magnetized ultrathin films is presented. The disorder is simulated as a granular structure in which the local anisotropy varies randomly from grain to grain. The skyrmion velocity is computed for different disorder parameters and ensembles. Similar behavior is seen for spin-torques due to in-plane currents and the spin Hall effect, where a pinning regime can be identified at low currents with a transition towards the disorder-free case at higher currents, similar to domain wall motion in diso…
The effect of impurity and domain-wall scattering on the electrical conductivity of disordered mesoscopic magnetic thin films is studied by use of computer simulation. The results indicate a reduction of resistivity due to a domain wall, which is consistent with the explanation in terms of the dephasing caused by domain wall.
The magnetotransport properties of disordered ferromagnetic kagome layers are investigated numerically. We show that a large domain-wall magnetoresistance or negative magnetoresistance can be realized in kagome layered materials (e.g. Fe$_3$Sn$_2$, Co$_3$Sn$_2$S$_2$, and Mn$_3$Sn), which show the quantum anomalous Hall effect. The kagome layers show a strong magnetic anisotropy and a large magnetoresistance depending on their magnetic texture. These domain-wall magnetoresistances are expected to be robust against disorder and observed irrespective of the domain-wall thickness, in contrast to c…
Charge density waves are thought to be common in two-dimensional electron systems in quantizing magnetic fields. Such phases are formed by the quasiparticles of the topmost occupied Landau level when it is partially filled. One class of charge density wave phases can be described as electron solids. In weak magnetic fields (at high Landau levels) solids with many particles per unit cell - bubble phases - predominate. In strong magnetic fields (at the lowest Landau level) only crystals with one particle per unit cell - Wigner crystals - can form. Experimental identification of these phases is f…
Disorder in ultra-thin magnetic films can significantly hinder domain wall motion. One of the main issues on the path towards efficient domain wall based devices remains the characterization of the pinning landscape at the nanoscale. In this paper, we study domain wall motion in W/CoFeB/MgO thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy crystallized by annealing at 400$^{\circ}$C and a process based on He$^{+}$ irradiation combined with elevated temperatures. Magnetic properties are similar for the whole series of samples, while the magnetic domain wall mobility is critically improved in th…
We study a high-TC superconducting (YBa2Cu3O7-d) / ferromagnetic (Co/Pt multilayer) hybrid which exhibits resistance switching driven by the magnetic history: depending on the direction of the external field, a pronounced decrease or increase of the mixed-state resistance is observed as magnetization reversal occurs within the Co/Pt multilayer. We demonstrate that stray magnetic fields cause these effects via i) creation of vortices/antivortices and ii) magnetostatic pinning of vortices that are induced by the external field.
We consider mechanism of exchange coupling based on interaction between electrons in nonmagnetic layer. Depending on ratio of inverse time of diffusion of electrons between ferromagnetic layers and ferromagnetic splitting of conducting electrons this mechanism describes transition from ferromagnetic to noncollinear ordering of magnetizations of ferromagnetic layers.
