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Three-dimensional antisphere arrays (3DAAs) of Ni have been fabricated using electrochemical deposition into self-assembled polystyrene sphere templates, which offers the advantage of straightforward scalability. Using the first-order reversal curve (FORC) method, the magnetic reversal mechanism is identified from the characteristic features in the FORC distribution. A left-bending boomerang-like feature is observed in the thinnest sample, which transforms to a ridge oriented along the local coercivity Hc axis with increasing sample thickness. This transformation identifies a change in the reversal process from an exchange dominated domain-growth reversal to a localized weakly interacting particle-like reversal. Micromagnetic simulations confirm the decrease in domain growth and increase of pinning behaviors as the thickness of the Ni 3DAAs structure increases, providing strong support to the FORC analysis and interpretation.

Magnetic vortices have generated intense interest in recent years due to their unique reversal mechanisms, fascinating topological properties, and exciting potential applications. In addition, the exchange coupling of magnetic vortices to antiferromagnets has also been shown to lead to a range of novel phenomena and functionalities. Here we report a new magnetization reversal mode of magnetic vortices in exchange coupled Ir20Mn80/Fe20Ni80 microdots: distorted viscous vortex reversal. In contrast to the previously known or proposed reversal modes, the vortex is distorted close to the interface and viscously dragged due to the uncompensated spins of a thin antiferromagnet, which leads to unexpected asymmetries in the annihilation and nucleation fields. These results provide a deeper understanding of the physics of exchange coupled vortices and may also have important implications for applications involving exchange coupled nanostructures.

Dispersion relations and isofrequency curves are of critical importance for understanding the behavior of waves, including what frequencies can be excited, how the waves will propagate, and how waves in one system will couple to another. Here, we present methods to extract the dispersion relations and isofrequency curves automatically and conveniently, each from a single micromagnetic simulation run. These methods have significant advantages in that they provide a means to obtain rapid insight into spin wave behavior in complex situations where analytic approaches are difficult or impossible. We present multiple examples to illustrate the methodology and discuss specific issues that need to be considered for the different situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate indirect electric-field control of ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) in devices that integrate the low-loss, molecule-based, room-temperature ferrimagnet vanadium tetracyanoethylene (V[TCNE]x∼2) mechanically coupled to PMN-PT piezoelectric transducers. Upon straining the V[TCNE]x films, the FMR frequency is tuned by more than 6 times the resonant linewidth with no change in Gilbert damping for samples with α = 6.5 × 10−5. We show this tuning effect is due to a strain-dependent magnetic anisotropy in the films and find the magnetoelastic coefficient |λs| ∼ (1–4.4) ppm, backed by theoretical predictions from density-functional theory calculations and magnetoelastic theory. Noting the rapidly expanding application space for strain-tuned FMR, we define a new metric for magnetostrictive materials, magnetostrictive agility, given by the ratio of the magnetoelastic coefficient to the FMR linewidth. This agility allows for a direct comparison between magnetostrictive materials in terms of their comparative efficacy for magnetoelectric applications requiring ultra-low loss magnetic resonance modulated by strain. With this metric, we show V[TCNE]x is competitive with other magnetostrictive materials, including YIG and Terfenol-D. This combination of ultra-narrow linewidth and magnetostriction, in a system that can be directly integrated into functional devices without requiring heterogeneous integration in a thin film geometry, promises unprecedented functionality for electric-field tuned microwave devices ranging from low-power, compact filters and circulators to emerging applications in quantum information science and technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews our work on the interplay between exchange bias due to the coupling of a ferromagnet to an antiferromagnet and the formation of magnetic vortices, which occur due to the patterning of a ferromagnet. Depending on the thermal and magnetic history, a variety of different effects can be observed. Thermal annealing in a saturating magnetic field establishes a spatially homogeneous exchange bias with a uniform unidirectional anisotropy. This results in an angular dependence of the magnetization reversal mode, which can be either via magnetization rotation or vortex nucleation and annihilation. In contrast, thermal annealing in a field smaller than the vortex annihilation field imprints the ferromagnetic vortex configuration in the antiferromagnet with high fidelity resulting in unusual asymmetric hysteresis loops. Furthermore, we discuss how the interfacial nature of the exchange bias can modify the vortex magnetization along the thickness of the ferromagnet. Index Terms--Exchange bias, magnetic vortex, magnetization reversal, patterned system.

In this work, we assess the effects of field history and structure shape on the formation of magnetic antivortices. The magnetic reversal process was investigated for a series of patterned micron-sized permalloy pound-key structures with varying degrees of asymmetry using magneto-optical Kerr effect hysteresis measurements combined with magnetic force microscopy. The largest number of antivortices was observed in the structures with the highest level of structure asymmetry, which also show an intermediate state in the hysteresis loop. A significant enhancement of the antivortex formation rate--from 5% to almost 80%--was achieved by adjusting the structure dimensions. Images of the magnetic states obtained at various points in the hysteresis loop show that the highest rate of antivortex formation occurs near the coercive field, also the nucleation field, and that the antivortex formation is also sensitive to the angle of the applied field, where the highest antivortex formation rate is observed when the field is aligned along the structure diagonal. A comparison of the experimental results with micromagnetic simulations shows that the areas with lower shape anisotropy lead the reversal in the formation step and the upper field limit for the antivortex stability is related to the reversal of the regions with higher shape anisotropy, although the simulations suggest that the annihilation mechanism will change to one that involves domain wall propagation when the smallest structure dimensions are below ~60 nm. These results demonstrate how shape anisotropy can be used to promote the formation of isolated magnetic antivortices, which will facilitate future investigations of this topological magnetic state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetostatic interactions between vortices in closely spaced planar structures are important for applications including vortex-based magnonic crystals and spin torque oscillator networks. Analytical theories that include magnetostatic interaction effects have been proposed but have not yet been rigorously tested. Here, we compare micromagnetic simulations of the dynamics of magnetic vortices confined in three disks in an equilateral triangle configuration to analytical theories that include coupling. Micromagnetic simulations show that the magnetostatic coupling between the disks leads to splitting of the gyrotropic resonance into three modes and that the frequency splitting increases with decreasing separation. The temporal profiles of the magnetization depend on the vortex polarities and chiralities; however, the frequencies depend only on the polarity combinations and will fall into one of two categories: all polarities equal or one polarity opposite to the others, where the latter leads to a larger frequency splitting. Although the magnitude of the splitting observed in the simulations is larger than what is expected based on purely dipolar interactions, a simple analytical model that assumes dipole-dipole coupling captures the functional form of the frequency splitting and the motion patterns just as well as more complex models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of individual magnetic vortices and vortex pairs confined in lithographically defined ferromagnetic ellipses are assessed using a microwave reflection technique. The findings reveal that the single-vortex resonance scales inversely with the ellipse size, in agreement with the simulations and analytical theory.

Three-dimensional antisphere arrays (3DAAs) of Ni have been fabricated using electrochemical deposition into self-assembled polystyrene sphere templates, which offers the advantage of straightforward scalability. Using the first-order reversal curve (FORC) method, the magnetic reversal mechanism is identified from the characteristic features in the FORC distribution. A left-bending boomerang-like feature is observed in the thinnest sample, which transforms to a ridge oriented along the local coercivity Hc axis with increasing sample thickness. This transformation identifies a change in the reversal process from an exchange dominated domain-growth reversal to a localized weakly interacting particle-like reversal. Micromagnetic simulations confirm the decrease in domain growth and increase of pinning behaviors as the thickness of the Ni 3DAAs structure increases, providing strong support to the FORC analysis and interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]