Modification of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and domain wall velocity in Pt/Co/Pt by voltage-induced strain

Shepley, P.M.; Rushforth, A.W.; Wang, M.; Burnell, G.; Moore, T.A.

Abstract

The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy Keff, magnetization reversal, and field-driven domain wall velocity in the creep regime are modified in Pt/Co(0.85–1.0 nm)/Pt thin films by strain applied via piezoelectric transducers. Keff, measured by the extraordinary Hall effect, is reduced by 10 kJ/m3 by tensile strain out-of-plane ez5931024, independently of the film thickness, indicating a dominant volume contribution to the magnetostriction. The same strain reduces the coercive field by 2–4 Oe, and increases the domain wall velocity measured by wide-field Kerr microscopy by 30-100%, with larger changes observed for thicker Co layers. We consider how strain-induced changes in the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy can modify the coercive field and domain wall velocity.

Citation

Shepley, P., Rushforth, A., Wang, M., Burnell, G., & Moore, T. (2015). Modification of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and domain wall velocity in Pt/Co/Pt by voltage-induced strain. Scientific Reports, 5, Article 7921. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep07921

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 10, 2014
• Publication Date: Jan 21, 2015
• Deposit Date: Jul 7, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 7, 2016
• Journal: Scientific Reports
• Electronic ISSN: 2045-2322
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 5
• Article Number: 7921
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep07921
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/742899
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep07921