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arXiv · 1311.0334

Temperature dependent nucleation and propagation of domain walls in a sub-100 nm perpendicularly magnetized Co/Ni multilayer

D. B. Gopman·D. Bedau·S. Mangin·E. E. Fullerton·J. A. Katine·A. D. Kent
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Abstract

We present a study of the temperature dependence of the switching fields in Co/Ni-based perpendicularly magnetized spin-valves. While magnetization reversal of all-perpendicular Co/Ni spin valves at ambient temperatures is typically marked by a single sharp step change in resistance, low temperature measurements can reveal a series of resistance steps, consistent with non-uniform magnetization configurations. We propose a model that consists of domain nucleation, propagation and annihilation to explain the temperature dependence of the switching fields. Interestingly, low temperature (<30 K) step changes in resistance that we associate with domain nucleation, have a bimodal switching field and resistance step distribution, attributable to two competing nucleation pathways.

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D. B. Gopman, D. Bedau, S. Mangin, E. E. Fullerton, J. A. Katine, A. D. Kent. 2013-11-02. Temperature dependent nucleation and propagation of domain walls in a sub-100 nm perpendicularly magnetized Co/Ni multilayer. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4868159

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