Jasper Vandermeulen

Logic and memory concepts for all-magnetic computing based on transverse domain walls

We introduce a non-volatile digital logic and memory concept in which the binary data is stored in the transverse magnetic domain walls present in in-plane magnetized nanowires with sufficiently small cross sectional dimensions. We assign the digital bit to the two possible orientations of the transverse domain wall. Numerical proofs-of-concept are presented for a NOT-, AND- and OR-gate, a FAN-out as well as a reading and writing device. Contrary to the chirality based vortex domain wall logic gates introduced in Omari and Hayward (2014 Phys. Rev. Appl. 2 044001), the presented concepts remain applicable when miniaturized and are driven by electrical currents, making the technology compatible with the in-plane racetrack memory concept. The individual devices can be easily combined to logic networks working with clock speeds that scale linearly with decreasing design dimensions. This opens opportunities to an all-magnetic computing technology where the digital data is stored and processed under the same magnetic representation.

Thermal effects on transverse domain wall dynamics in magnetic nanowires

Magnetic domain walls are proposed as data carriers in future spintronic devices, whose reliability depends on a complete understanding of the domain wall motion. Applications based on an accurate positioning of domain walls are inevitably influenced by thermal fluctuations. In this letter, we present a micromagnetic study of the thermal effects on this motion. As spin-polarized currents are the most used driving mechanism for domain walls, we have included this in our analysis. Our results show that at finite temperatures, the domain wall velocity has a drift and diffusion component, which are in excellent agreement with the theoretical values obtained from a generalized 1D model. The drift and diffusion component are independent of each other in perfect nanowires, and the mean square displacement scales linearly with time and temperature.

The effect of Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction on field-driven domain wall dynamics analysed by a semi-analytical approach

Fast domain wall (DW) propagation through perpendicularly magnetized nanostrips with a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) offers promising opportunities for the development of magnetic memory and logic devices. However, as the DW speed increases, the DW magnetization is also progressively affected which ultimately leads to an unstable DW and a drop in the velocity, i.e. the Walker breakdown. In this paper, we introduce a semi-analytical approach to describe and quantify changes to the internal degrees of freedom of the DW. By spatially averaging the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation, we derive equations of motion and identify seven DW variables in addition to the DW position. This contrasts analytical models where such variables are introduced in an ansatz for the DW shape. We apply this to a field driven DW motion and we study the effect of DMI in detail. Our method helps characterize the opposing and reinforcing effects of the different interactions involved, contributing to our understanding of the Walker breakdown.