Limitations in artificial spin ice path selectivity: the challenges beyond topological control

Walton, S. K., Zeissler, K., Burn, D. M., Ladak, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0275-0927, Read, D. E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4178-4986, Tyliszczak, T., Cohen, L. F. and Branford, W. R. 2015. Limitations in artificial spin ice path selectivity: the challenges beyond topological control. New Journal of Physics 17 , 013054. 10.1088/1367-2630/17/1/013054

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Abstract

Magnetic charge is carried through nanowire networks by domain walls, and the micromagnetic structure of a domain wall provides an opportunity to manipulate its movement. We have shown previously that magnetic monopole defects exist in artificial spin ice (ASI) and result from two bar switching at a vertex. To create and manipulate monopole defects and indeed magnetic charge in general, path selectivity of the domain wall at a vertex is required. We have recently shown that in connected ASI structures, transverse wall chirality (or topology) determines wall path direction, but a mechanism known as Walker breakdown, where a wall mutates into a wall of opposite chirality partially destroys selectivity. Recently it has been claimed that in isolated Y-shaped junctions that support vortex walls, selectivity is entirely determined by chirality (or topology), the suggestion being that vortex wall chirality is robust in the Walker breakdown process. Here we demonstrate that in Y-shaped junctions, magnetic switching in the important topologically protected regime exists only for a narrow window of field and bar geometry, and that it will be challenging to access this regime in field-driven ASI. This work has implications for the wider field of magnetic charge manipulation for high density memory storage.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Physics and Astronomy
Publisher:	IOP Publishing
ISSN:	1367-2630
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	12 September 2017
Date of Acceptance:	8 December 2014
Last Modified:	23 May 2023 16:18
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/69773

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