Drastic enhancement of stable and fast domain wall motion in GdFe nanowires through laser-annealing treatment at wire edges

Abstract

One of the key challenges in racetrack memory (RM) technology is achieving stable and high velocities for domain walls (DWs) while maintaining low power consumption. In our study, we propose a novel laser-annealing (LA) process to modify wire edges for a smoother DW movement along the nanowire. In this regard, a film stack of Pt (5 nm)/Gd26Fe74(20 nm)/SiN(10 nm) was deposited by magnetron sputtering. The DW velocity in the wire was measured by applying single voltage pulses and then observing the DW motion using a Kerr microscope. The current-induced domain walls motion measurements have shown that the LA process significantly enhances the velocity of DW motion. The LA of both edges of the nanowire results in a threefold increase in DW velocity compared to non-LA conditions. Further experiments illustrated that the DW velocity remains stable for the laser-annealed condition across a wide range of applied currents, spanning from 3 × 1011 to 7 × 1011 A/m2. Additionally, our investigation into the magnetic characteristics of laser-annealed nanowire regions exhibited a notable reduction of Hc at the laser-annealed edges. This decrease in Hc indicates greater ease in manipulating the material’s magnetization, which is essential for efficient DW motion. Furthermore, we explored the influence of LA on the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya Interaction (DMI) field. The DMI finding underscores the strong correlation between DMI fields and DW speed. This achievement, i.e. the stability and consistency of the domain’s velocity (as the components of an RM) in a wide range of applied current, is significant progress in the field of operation and industrialization of RM.