Regensburg 2010 – scientific programme
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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus
MA 17: Spin Dynamics / Spin Torque II
MA 17.6: Talk
Wednesday, March 24, 2010, 15:45–16:00, H10
Tailoring laser-induced domain wall pinning — •Philipp Möhrke1, Jeroen Franken2,1, Jan Rhensius1,3, Jan-Ulrich Thiele4, Ursula J. Gibson5, Laura J. Heyderman3, Ulrich Rüdiger1, and Mathias Kläui1 — 1Universität Konstanz, Fachbereich Physik, Universitätsstraße 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany — 2Department of Applied Physics, University of Technology, Einhoven, Netherlands — 3Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villingen PSI, Switzerland — 4Hitachi Global Storage, San Jose, CA, USA — 5Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth Colege, Hanover, NH, USA
The generation of spin-currents due to temperature gradients was predicted from theoretical calculations and measured in experiment (spin Seebeck effect). This topic has attracted interest lately, but so far no influence of such spin-currents on domain wall (DW) motion has been reported.
We first probe the effect of the current-induced heating on the magnetic and magneto-optical properties of Permalloy nanowires with increasing current density using a dynamic Kerr-microscope. Furthermore the creation of tunable pinning sites by local laser-induced heating, which could be explained by spin-currents, is shown for higher laser powers. We find that the laser spot focused onto the wire can act as a flexible pinning site for a DW. As part of the power is absorbed by the sample, it is heated locally and a strong thermal gradient is created. The field or current required to depin the DW from the spot increases with laser power so that the pinning strength can be tuned by adjusting the laser.