Nanoscopic spin-wave channeling along programmable magnetic domain walls in a CoFeB/BaTiO3 multiferroic heterostructure

Abstract

We report a micromagnetic study on spin-wave propagation along magnetic domain walls in a ferromagnetic/ferroelectric bilayer. In our system, strain coupling between the two ferroic materials and inverse magnetostriction produce a fully correlated domain pattern wherein straight and narrow ferroelectric domain walls pin the magnetic domain walls. Consequently, an external magnetic field does tailor the spin structure of the magnetic domain walls instead of moving them. We use experimental parameters from a previously studied CoFeB/BaTiO3 material system to investigate the potential of artificial multiferroics for programmable nanoscopic spin-wave channeling. We show that spin waves are transported along the pinned magnetic domain walls at zero magnetic field and low frequency due to a local demagnetizing field. Further, switching of the domain wall spin structure from a head-to-tail to a head-to-head configuration abruptly changes the propagating spin-wave mode. We study the effect of magnetic field strength on the localized modes and discuss reversible control of spin-wave channeling via electric-field-driven magnetic domain wall motion. Nanoscopic guiding of propagating spin waves by an electric field, in combination with positional robustness to and mode programming by an external magnetic field, offers prospects for low-power and reconfigurable domain-wall-based magnonic devices.