Interactions between 180° and 360° domain walls in magnetic multilayer stripes

Abstract

Magnetostatic interactions between 360° and transverse 180° domain walls in the NiFe and Co layers of Co/Cu/NiFe multilayer stripes are investigated by micromagnetic simulations. In 200 nm wide Co (5 nm)/Cu (5 nm) /NiFe (5 nm) stripes, stray fields from 360° domain walls in the Co layer strongly influence the magnetic behavior of the NiFe layer, promoting reverse domain nucleation and providing a pinning potential of order 100 Oe which impedes domain wall propagation. 360° domain walls may be useful as programmable pinning sites in magnetoelectronic logic or memory devices.