Fast propagation of weakly pinned domain walls and current-assisted magnetization reversal in He+-irradiated Pt/Co/Pt nanotracks

Magnetic-domain-wall propagation is experimentally studied in nanotracks etched in ultrathin Pt/Co/Pt films with out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy, where pinning has been artificially reduced by low-dose He-irradiation. Fast domainwall propagation is demonstrated in such tracks under low magnetic fields, not greater than the fields necessary to make a domain wall propagate in the He-irradiated plain films before patterning. A strong further enhancement of the track-magnetization reversal speed is obtained thanks to a Joule-heating-induced thermomagnetic effect, by applying magnetic-field and electrical-current pulses simultaneously to the track. PACS numbers: 75.60.Ch, 75.75.-c, 61.80.Jh, 85.70.Kh Submitted to: J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. ‡ Present address: Radboud University Nijmegen, Institute for Molecules and Materials, NL-6525AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands Confidential: not for distribution. Submitted to IOP Publishing for peer review 14 April 2011