Magnetic vortices in nanowires with transverse easy axis

Abstract

We present magnetotransport measurements as well as micromagnetic simulations of magnetization reversal in magnetic nanowires having strong transverse magnetocrystalline anisotropy. The interplay between exchange, demagnetizing, and magnetocrystalline energies gives rise to a micromagnetic configuration involving vortices with alternative chirality along the wire. Despite the complexity of the field angle-dependent magnetization reversal process, a very good agreement is obtained between experiments and simulations. This provides evidence that the reported magnetization process appears generally in nanowires with strong transverse magnetocrystalline anisotropy. Moreover an analytical expression is established for the angular dependency of the core switching field. The simulations indicate the occurrence of Bloch points during the core reversal.