Tuning of the nucleation field in nanowires with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

We report on domain nucleation in nanowires consisting of Co/Pt multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy that are patterned by electron-beam lithography, sputter deposition, and lift-off processing. It is found that the nucleation field can be tuned by changing the geometry of the wire end...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied physics 2013-04, Vol.113 (16)
Main Authors: Kimling, Judith, Gerhardt, Theo, Kobs, Andre, Vogel, Andreas, Peter Oepen, Hans, Merkt, Ulrich, Meier, Guido, Wintz, Sebastian, Im, Mi-Young, Fischer, Peter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ANISOTROPY
COBALT
DEPOSITION
ELECTRON BEAMS
LAYERS
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES
NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
NANOSTRUCTURES
NUCLEATION
PLATINUM
PROCESSING
QUANTUM WIRES
RESPIRATORS
SIMULATION
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Summary:We report on domain nucleation in nanowires consisting of Co/Pt multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy that are patterned by electron-beam lithography, sputter deposition, and lift-off processing. It is found that the nucleation field can be tuned by changing the geometry of the wire ends. A reduction of the nucleation field by up to 60% is achieved when the wire ends are designed as tips. This contrasts with the behavior of wires with in-plane anisotropy where the nucleation field increases when triangular-pointed ends are used. In order to clarify the origin of the reduction of the nucleation field, micromagnetic simulations are employed. The effect cannot be explained by the lateral geometrical variation but is attributable to a local reduction of the perpendicular anisotropy caused by shadowing effects due to the resist mask during sputter deposition of the multilayer.
ISSN:0021-8979
1089-7550
DOI:10.1063/1.4802687