Magnetotransport effects of ultrathin Ni80Fe20 films probed in-situ

We have investigated the magnetoresistance of Permalloy (Ni80Fe20) films with thicknesses ranging from a single monolayer to 12 nm, grown on Al2O3, MgO and SiO2 substrates. Growth and transport measurements were carried out under cryogenic conditions in UHV. Applying in-plane magnetic vector fields up to 100 mT, the magnetotransport properties are ascertained during growth. With increasing thickness the films exhibit a gradual transition from tunneling magnetoresistance to anisotropic magnetoresistance. This corresponds to the evolution of the film structure from separated small islands to a network of interconnected grains as well as the transition from superparamagnetic to ferromagnetic behavior of the film. Using an analysis based on a theoretical model of the island growth, we find that the observed evolution of the magnetoresistance in the tunneling regime originates from the changes in the island size distribution during growth. Depending on the substrate material, significant differences in the magnetoresistance response in the transition regime between tunneling magnetoresistance and anisotropic magnetoresistance were found. We attribute this to an increasingly pronounced island growth and slower percolation process of Permalloy when comparing growth on SiO2, MgO and Al2O3 substrates. The different growth characteristics result in a markedly earlier onset of both tunneling magnetoresistance and anisotropic magnetoresistance for SiO2. For Al2O3 in particular the growth mode results in a structure of the film containing two different contributions to the ferromagnetism which lead to two distinct coercive fields in the high thickness regime.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Detection of current-induced resonance of geometrically confined domain walls

Magnetic domain walls are found to exhibit quasiparticle behavior when subjected to geometrical variations. Because of the spin torque effect such a quasiparticle in a potential well is excited by an ac current leading to a dip in the depinning field at resonance for current densities as low as 2 x 10 power 10 A/m power 2. Independently the resonance frequencies of transverse walls and vortex walls are determined from the dc voltage that develops due to a rectifying effect of the resonant domain wall oscillation. The dependence on the injected current density reveals a strongly nonharmonic oscillation

Quantitative Determination of the Nonlinear Pinning Potential for a Magnetic Domain Wall

Using microwave currents, we excite resonances of geometrically confined pinned domain walls, detecting the resonance by the rectification of the microwave current. By applying magnetic fields, the resonance frequency of the domain wall oscillator can be tuned over a wide range. Increasing the power leads to a redshift due to the nonlinearity of the system. From this frequency shift, we directly deduce the quantitative shape of the potential, so that a complete characterization of the pinning potential is obtained

Imaging of Domain Wall Inertia in Permalloy Half-Ring Nanowires by Time-Resolved Photoemission Electron Microscopy

Using photoemission electron microscopy, we image the dynamics of a field pulse excited domain wall in a Permalloy nanowire. We find a delay in the onset of the wall motion with respect to the excitation and an oscillatory relaxation of the domain wall back to its equilibrium position, defined by an external magnetic field. The origin of both of these inertia effects is the transfer of energy between energy reservoirs. By imaging the distribution of the exchange energy in the wall spin structure, we determine these reservoirs, which are the basis of the domain wall mass concept

Single shot Kerr magnetometer for observing real-time domain wall motion in permalloy nanowires

Details are presented of a single shot focused magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) magnetometer which is used to capture the movement of single domain walls (DWs) in permalloy (Ni80 Fe20) nanowires in real time. By probing the DW motion within the 1μm diameter laser spot of the instrument, DW velocity and pinning field distributions were obtained. An external field was ramped up linearly, and depinning of a DW from the same start position was observed at three different fields, indicating the stochastic nature of the DW motion

Direct observation of high velocity current induced domain wall motion

We study fast vortex wall propagation in Permalloy wires induced by 3 ns short current pulses with sub 100 ps rise time using high resolution magnetic imaging at zero field.We find a constant domain wall displacement after each current pulse as well as current induced domain wall structure changes, even at these very short timescales. The domain wall velocities are found to be above 100 m/s and independent of the domain wall spin structure. Comparison to experiments with longer pulses points to the pulse shape as the origin of the high velocities

Selective domain wall depinning by localized Oersted fields and Joule heating

Using low temperature magnetoresistance measurements, the possibility to selectively move a domain wall locally by applying current pulses through a Au nanowire adjacent to a permalloy element is studied. We find that the domain wall depinning field is drastically modified with increasing current density due to the Joule heating and the Oersted field of the current, and controlled motion due to the Oersted field without any externally applied fields is achieved. By placing the domain wall at various distances from the Au wire, we determine the range of the Joule heating and the Oersted field and both effects can be separated