Investigation of magnetization dynamics in trilayer width-modulated nanowires

Abstract

We have investigated the magnetization reversal processes and dynamic behavior of trilayered Py(50 nm)/Pd(tPd)/Py(20 nm) nanowires with periodic width modulation as a function of spacer layer thickness tPd in the range from 0 to 10 nm and compared them with single-layer nanowires. The ferromagnetic resonance spectra show more than three modes that result from a non-uniform demagnetizing field in width-modulated nanowires. We observe that the spacer layer thickness influenced the ferromagnetic resonance spectra, which showed different numbers and values of modes and frequencies due to the different magnetization configurations for different spacer layer thicknesses. We also found that the two ferromagnetic layers are exchange-coupled for tPd = 2 nm nanowire arrays, showing the sharp switching of magnetization from the static measurements and sharp frequency jump from 13.6 to 14.7 GHz around −18 mT from the dynamic measurements. However, for tPd = 10 nm, the two layers switch at different fields, indicating a gradual decrease in magnetization as the reversal is mediated through dipolar coupling. The origin of modes is well explained from the spatial mode profiles of top and bottom magnetic layers. The dynamic responses in this spin-valve-type structure are useful for designing microwave-based spintronic devices.