Collective Coordinate Descriptions of Magnetic Domain Wall Motion in Perpendicularly Magnetized Nanostructures under the Application of In-plane Fields

TL;DR

This paper develops extended collective coordinate models incorporating canting to accurately predict magnetic domain wall motion in perpendicularly magnetized nanostructures under in-plane fields, aligning better with micromagnetic simulations.

Contribution

Introduction of extended collective coordinate models with canting that improve predictions of domain wall dynamics under in-plane fields in magnetic nanostructures.

Findings

Models better match micromagnetic simulation results.

Identification of critical points in domain wall motion.

Enhanced understanding of in-plane field effects on domain walls.

Abstract

Manipulation of magnetic domain walls can be used to improve the capabilities of the next generation of memory and sensing devices. Materials of recent interest for such devices include heterostructures of ultrathin ferromagnets sandwiched between a heavy metal and an oxide, where spin-orbit coupling and broken inversion symmetry give rise to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI), stabilizing chiral domain walls. The efficiency of the motion of these chiral domain walls may be controlled using in-plane magnetic fields. This property has been used for measurement of DMI strength. While micromagnetic simulations are able to accurately predict domain wall motion under in-plane fields in these materials, collective coordinate models such as the $q-\phi$ and $q-\phi-\chi$ models fail to reproduce the micromagnetic results. In this theoretical work, we present a set of extended collective coordinate models including canting in the domains, which better reproduce micromagnetic results, and helps us better understand the effect of in-plane fields on magnetic domain walls. These models are used in conjunction with micromagnetic simulations to identify critical points observed in the motion of the domain walls driven by out-of-plane magnetic fields, and electric current under magnetic in-plane fields. Our new models and results help in the development of future domain wall based devices based on perpendicularly magnetized materials.