Shape-dependence of the barrier for skyrmions on a two-lane racetrack

Jan Müller

doi:10.1117/12.2237624

26 September 2016 Shape-dependence of the barrier for skyrmions on a two-lane racetrack

Jan Müller

Proceedings Volume 9931, Spintronics IX; 993136 (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2237624
Event: SPIE Nanoscience + Engineering, 2016, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Single magnetic skyrmions are localized whirls in the magnetization with an integer winding number. They have been observed on nano-meter scales up to room temperature in multilayer structures. Due to their small size, topological winding number, and their ability to be manipulated by extremely tiny forces, they are often called interesting candidates for future memory devices. The two-lane racetrack has to exhibit two lanes that are separated by an energy barrier. The information is then encoded in the position of a skyrmion which is located in one of these close-by lanes. The artificial barrier between the lanes can be created by an additional nanostrip on top of the track. Here we study the dependence of the potential barrier on the shape of the additional nanostrip, calculating the potentials for a rectangular, triangular, and parabolic cross section, as well as interpolations between the first two. We find that a narrow barrier is always repulsive and that the height of the potential strongly depends on the shape of the nanostrip, whereas the shape of the potential is more universal. We finally show that the shape-dependence is redundant for possible applications.

Citation Download Citation

Jan Müller "Shape-dependence of the barrier for skyrmions on a two-lane racetrack", Proc. SPIE 9931, Spintronics IX, 993136 (26 September 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2237624

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available