Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Unusual domain wall motion in the vicinity of the depinning field in a Pt/CoFeB/MgO film

  • Published:
Applied Physics A Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Domain wall (DW) statics and dynamics have been immensely studied for the last few decades in a disordered medium due to rich fundamental physics and spintronics applications. Here, we have studied the DW dynamics in Pt/CoFeB/MgO thin film with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. We have observed an unusual behaviour in the DW dynamics which cannot be only explained via universal creep or depinning law. At low driving force, the sample follows the universal creep law; however, near the depinning field (\(H_\textrm{d}\)), an excess velocity has been observed in DW dynamics in comparison to   the usual creep law. We propose that, due to additional relaxation events near \(H_\textrm{d}\), the DW propagation length is increased and hence the DW velocity. The excess velocity has been modelled to a modified creep law.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The data are available upon reasonable request from the authors.

References

  1. S.S. Parkin, M. Hayashi, L. Thomas, Magnetic domain-wall racetrack memory. Science 320(5873), 190–194 (2008)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. D.A. Allwood, G. Xiong, C. Faulkner, D. Atkinson, D. Petit, R. Cowburn, Magnetic domain-wall logic. Science 309(5741), 1688–1692 (2005)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. N. Locatelli, V. Cros, J. Grollier, Spin-torque building blocks. Nat. Mater. 13(1), 11–20 (2014)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. M. Sharad, C. Augustine, G. Panagopoulos, K. Roy, Spin-based neuron model with domain-wall magnets as synapse. IEEE Trans. Nanotechnol. 11(4), 843–853 (2012)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. A.B. Kolton, A. Rosso, T. Giamarchi, W. Krauth, Dynamics below the depinning threshold in disordered elastic systems. Phys. Rev. Lett. 97(5), 057001 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. S. Lemerle, J. Ferré, C. Chappert, V. Mathet, T. Giamarchi, P. Le Doussal, Domain wall creep in an ising ultrathin magnetic film. Phys. Rev. Lett. 80(4), 849 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. S. Bustingorry, A. Kolton, T. Giamarchi, Thermal rounding of the depinning transition. Europhys. Lett. 81(2), 26005 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. M. Müller, D.A. Gorokhov, G. Blatter, Velocity-force characteristics of a driven interface in a disordered medium. Phys. Rev. B 63(18), 184305 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. P. Chauve, T. Giamarchi, P. Le Doussal, Creep and depinning in disordered media. Phys. Rev. B 62(10), 6241 (2000)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. L. Laurson, X. Illa, S. Santucci, K. Tore Tallakstad, K.J. Måløy, M.J. Alava, Evolution of the average avalanche shape with the universality class. Nat. Commun. 4(1), 2927 (2013)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. P. Le Doussal, K.J. Wiese, S. Moulinet, E. Rolley, Height fluctuations of a contact line: a direct measurement of the renormalized disorder correlator. Europhys. Lett. 87(5), 56001 (2009)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. G. Blatter, M.V. Feigel’man, V.B. Geshkenbein, A.I. Larkin, V.M. Vinokur, Vortices in high-temperature superconductors. Rev. Mod. Phys. 66(4), 1125 (1994)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. G. Grüner, The dynamics of charge-density waves. Rev. Mod. Phys. 60(4), 1129 (1988)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. T. Nattermann, Scaling approach to pinning: charge density waves and giant flux creep in superconductors. Phys. Rev. Lett. 64(20), 2454 (1990)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. L.B. Ioffe, V.M. Vinokur, Dynamics of interfaces and dislocations in disordered media. J. Phys. C Solid State Phys. 20(36), 6149 (1987)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. J. Ferré, P.J. Metaxas, A. Mougin, J.-P. Jamet, J. Gorchon, V. Jeudy, Universal magnetic domain wall dynamics in the presence of weak disorder. C. R. Phys. 14(8), 651–666 (2013)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. E.E. Ferrero, S. Bustingorry, A.B. Kolton, A. Rosso, Numerical approaches on driven elastic interfaces in random media. C. R. Phys. 14(8), 641–650 (2013)

    Article  MATH  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. P. Metaxas, J. Jamet, A. Mougin, M. Cormier, J. Ferré, V. Baltz, B. Rodmacq, B. Dieny, R. Stamps, Creep and flow regimes of magnetic domain-wall motion in ultrathin pt/co/pt films with perpendicular anisotropy. Phys. Rev. Lett. 99(21), 217208 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. V. Jeudy, A. Mougin, S. Bustingorry, W.S. Torres, J. Gorchon, A.B. Kolton, A. Lemaître, J.-P. Jamet, Universal pinning energy barrier for driven domain walls in thin ferromagnetic films. Phys. Rev. Lett. 117(5), 057201 (2016)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. K. Shahbazi, J.-V. Kim, H.T. Nembach, J.M. Shaw, A. Bischof, M.D. Rossell, V. Jeudy, T.A. Moore, C.H. Marrows, Domain-wall motion and interfacial Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interactions in pt/co/ir (t ir)/ta multilayers. Phys. Rev. B 99(9), 094409 (2019)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. S. DuttaGupta, S. Fukami, C. Zhang, H. Sato, M. Yamanouchi, F. Matsukura, H. Ohno, Adiabatic spin-transfer-torque-induced domain wall creep in a magnetic metal. Nat. Phys. 12(4), 333–336 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. D.-H. Kim, S.-B. Choe, S.-C. Shin, Direct observation of Barkhausen avalanche in co thin films. Phys. Rev. Lett. 90(8), 087203 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. V. Jeudy, R.D. Pardo, W.S. Torres, S. Bustingorry, A.B. Kolton, Pinning of domain walls in thin ferromagnetic films. Phys. Rev. B 98(5), 054406 (2018)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. R.D. Pardo, W.S. Torres, A.B. Kolton, S. Bustingorry, V. Jeudy, Universal depinning transition of domain walls in ultrathin ferromagnets. Phys. Rev. B 95(18), 184434 (2017)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. S. Bustingorry, A. Kolton, T. Giamarchi, Thermal rounding exponent of the depinning transition of an elastic string in a random medium. Phys. Rev. E 85(2), 021144 (2012)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. J. Gorchon, S. Bustingorry, J. Ferré, V. Jeudy, A.B. Kolton, T. Giamarchi, Pinning-dependent field-driven domain wall dynamics and thermal scaling in an ultrathin pt/co/pt magnetic film. Phys. Rev. Lett. 113(2), 027205 (2014)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. N.B. Caballero, I.F. Aguirre, L.J. Albornoz, A.B. Kolton, J.C. Rojas-Sánchez, S. Collin, J.M. George, R.D. Pardo, V. Jeudy, S. Bustingorry et al., Excess velocity of magnetic domain walls close to the depinning field. Phys. Rev. B 96(22), 224422 (2017)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Department of atomic energy (DAE), Government of India and the Indo-French collaborative project supported by CEFIPRA (IFC/5808-1/2017) for financial support. B.B.S. acknowledges DST for INSPIRE faculty fellowship.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Nanomagnetism and Magnetic Materials (LNMM), School of Physical Sciences, National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), An OCC of Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Jatni, Odisha, 752050, India

    Brindaban Ojha, Minaxi Sharma & Subhankar Bedanta

  2. Department of Physics, Harcourt Butler Technical University (HBTU), Nawabganj, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, 208002, India

    Braj Bhusan Singh

  3. Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS UMR 8502, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405, Orsay Cedex, France

    Sougata Mallick, Vincent Jeudy, André Thiaville & Stanislas Rohart

Authors
  1. Brindaban Ojha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Braj Bhusan Singh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Minaxi Sharma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sougata Mallick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Vincent Jeudy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. André Thiaville
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Stanislas Rohart
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Subhankar Bedanta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

SB, SR and VJ conceived the idea and coordinated the project. BO and MS have prepared the sample. BO, SM and VJ have performed the DW dynamics measurements via MOKE. BO and BBS have performed SQUID measurements. The results have been analysed by BO, VJ, AT, SR and SB. The manuscript has mainly been written by BO, VJ, SR and SB. All authors contributed to the manuscript corrections.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Vincent Jeudy, Stanislas Rohart or Subhankar Bedanta.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (PDF 364 kb)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ojha, B., Singh, B.B., Sharma, M. et al. Unusual domain wall motion in the vicinity of the depinning field in a Pt/CoFeB/MgO film. Appl. Phys. A 129, 688 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-023-06947-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-023-06947-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation