Magnetization switching in bistable nanomagnets by picosecond pulses of surface acoustic waves

Abstract

We perform a theoretical investigation of the magnetization switching in polycrystalline Ni nanoparticles induced by ultrashort pulses of surface acoustic waves via magnetoelastic interactions. In our numerical simulations, a Ni nanoparticle is modeled as an ellipsoidal disk deposited on a dielectric substrate. The in-plane external magnetic field breaks the symmetry and allows us to adjust the height of the energy barrier between two metastable magnetization states of the free-energy density and dramatically lower the amplitude of elastic strain pulses required for magnetization switching. The switching threshold is shown to depend on the duration of an acoustic pulse, the magnetic shape anisotropy of an elliptical nanoparticle, the amplitude of the external magnetic field, and the magnetostriction coefficient. We introduce the magnetoelastic switching diagram, allowing for the simultaneous visualization of the switching threshold and its characteristic timescale as a function of various physical parameters.