Moving magnetic domain walls with sound alone
[EN]Surface Acoustic Waves (SAW) have been used in spintronic applications to decrease the magnetic field or the electric current required to act on the magnetization. A common belief is that a SAW alone cannot achieve a directed magnetic switching in a device without an assisting magnetic field or...
| Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | article |
| Status: | Published version |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Universidad de Salamanca (USAL) |
| Repository: | GREDOS. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Salamanca |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:gredos.usal.es:10366/169335 |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10366/169335 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Magnetism Surface acoustic waves Spintronics Magnetic domain wall |
| Summary: | [EN]Surface Acoustic Waves (SAW) have been used in spintronic applications to decrease the magnetic field or the electric current required to act on the magnetization. A common belief is that a SAW alone cannot achieve a directed magnetic switching in a device without an assisting magnetic field or electric current. In this work, we demonstrate magnetic domain wall motion driven solely by an acoustic wave. Using XMCD-PEEM, we show extensive evidence of SAW-induced and field-free magnetic domain wall motion (DW) in the direction of the wave propagation. Our micromagnetic simulations reveal a mechanism that allows the SAW to transfer linear momentum to the DW. Experimentally, the largest DW average velocity measured was ~12m/s, although our simulations predict that velocities in the range of 100 m/s could be attained. This new mechanism opens the door to designing innovative spintronic devices where the magnetization can be controlled exclusively by an acoustic wave. |
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