Scaling Behaviour of Chirality Dependent Domain Wall Pinning in Planar Nanowires
D.S. Eastwood, L.K. Bogart and D. Atkinson
Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
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Micromagnetic modelling is used to establish the dimensional scaling dependence of the magnetic fields required for domain wall injection and chirality dependent pinning in planar permalloy nanowires with asymmetric structural notches. The wire width, thickness and notch constriction width are systematically varied whilst the axial magnetization is reversed under a globally applied magnetic field. A component of magnetic field transverse to the direction of propagation is applied throughout the reversal to control the domain wall chirality, and therefore determine the strength of pinning at the notch. We deduce that thicker wires with a narrower width cause larger depinning fields and stronger chirality dependent pinning, an observation relevant for domain wall memory applications, and particularly those exploiting chirality dependent pinning in nanowires.
DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.118.719
PACS numbers: 75.60.Ch, 75.78.Cd, 81.07.Gf