Controlled spin-torque driven domain wall motion using staggered magnetic nanowires

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates controlled domain wall motion in staggered magnetic nanowires using spin-transfer torque, highlighting how device dimensions influence depinning current, pinning potential, and thermal stability for potential memory applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel staggered nanowire configuration that allows precise control over domain wall motion, advancing the development of high-capacity DW memory devices.

Findings

Depinning current depends on nanowire dimensions

Pinning potential varies with device geometry

Thermal stability is influenced by staggering configuration

Abstract

The growing demand for storage, due to big data applications, cannot be met by hard disk drives. Domain wall (DW) memory devices such as racetrack memory offer an alternative route to achieve high capacity storage. In DW memory, control of domain wall positions and their motion using spin-transfer torque are important challenges. In this paper, we demonstrate controlled domain wall motion using spin-transfer torque in staggered magnetic nanowires. The devices, fabricated using electron-beam lithography, were tested using a magneto-optical Kerr microscopy and electrical transport measurements. The depinning current, pinning potential and thermal stability were found to depend on the device dimensions of the staggering nanowires. Thus, the proposed staggering configuration helps to fine-tune the properties of domain wall devices for memory applications.