corner
corner
APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 98 » Issue 18
< Previous Article | Next Article >

Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 187202 (2007) [4 pages]

Direct Imaging of Stochastic Domain-Wall Motion Driven by Nanosecond Current Pulses

Download: PDF (1,156 kB) Buy this article Export: BibTeX or EndNote (RIS)

Guido Meier*, Markus Bolte, and René Eiselt
Institut für Angewandte Physik und Zentrum für Mikrostrukturforschung, Universität Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 11, 20355 Hamburg, Germany

Benjamin Krüger
I. Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Hamburg, Jungiusstrasse 9, 20355 Hamburg, Germany

Dong-Hyun Kim
Department of Physics and Institute for Basic Research, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763, South Korea

Peter Fischer
Center for X-Ray Optics, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, 1 Cyclotron Road, Mail Stop 2R0400, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

Received 27 December 2006; published 2 May 2007

See accompanying Physics Focus

Magnetic transmission x-ray microscopy is used to directly visualize the influence of a spin-polarized current on domain walls in curved permalloy wires. Pulses of nanosecond duration and of high current density up to 1.0×1012  A/m2 are used to move and to deform the domain wall. The current pulse drives the wall either undisturbed, i.e., as composite particle through the wire, or causes structural changes of the magnetization. Repetitive pulse measurements reveal the stochastic nature of current-induced domain-wall motion.

© 2007 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.187202
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.187202
PACS:
75.60.Ch, 68.37.Yz, 72.25.Ba, 75.60.Ej

*Electronic address: meier@physnet.uni-hamburg.de

 
< Previous Article | Next Article >