Microwave assisted switching in two-phase nanowires

Abstract

Micromagnetic simulations are used to study the resonances and the microwave assisted magnetic switching (MAS) in two-phase Co/CoPt nanowires. This is chosen as an interesting model system in which the processes of nucleation, interfacial domain wall pinning, and propagation are well distinguished and can all come into play. The coupling strength is varied to cover both smooth (strong coupling) and stepped (weak coupling) hysteresis curves. At intermediate coupling strengths interfacial resonances play an important role in MAS and enable to find optimal conditions combining both low MAS frequencies and dc applied fields. There is always a tradeoff between using low fields and achieving short reversal time.