TY - JOUR
T1 - Micromagnetic analysis of unusual, V-shaped domain transitions in MnAs nanowires
AU - Engel-Herbert, R.
AU - Hesjedal, T.
N1 - Funding Information:
R.E.-H. acknowledges partial financial support from the Humboldt Foundation of Germany and support through a Norris B. McFarlane Career Professorship. T.H. gratefully acknowledges support from the John Fell Fund, Oxford University.
Copyright:
Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2011/7
Y1 - 2011/7
N2 - V-shaped domain transitions in αMnAs nanowires were investigated by micromagnetic simulations. These rather unusual domain patterns are commonly observed experimentally by surface-sensitive magnetic imaging techniques. It has been speculated that the accompanying inclined domain walls in MnAs are the result of either an exchange biasing effect between ferromagnetic αMnAs wires and antiferromagnetic βMnAs wires or possibly due to competing exchange mechanisms in MnAs. Here we present evidence that these domain features are in fact transitions between three-dimensional flux-closure domains of opposite chirality and can therefore rule out the involvement of an antiferromagnetic biasing effect or anisotropic exchange. The formation of the energetically unfavorable V-shaped domain transitions is discussed in the context of the magneto-structural phase transition of the sample.
AB - V-shaped domain transitions in αMnAs nanowires were investigated by micromagnetic simulations. These rather unusual domain patterns are commonly observed experimentally by surface-sensitive magnetic imaging techniques. It has been speculated that the accompanying inclined domain walls in MnAs are the result of either an exchange biasing effect between ferromagnetic αMnAs wires and antiferromagnetic βMnAs wires or possibly due to competing exchange mechanisms in MnAs. Here we present evidence that these domain features are in fact transitions between three-dimensional flux-closure domains of opposite chirality and can therefore rule out the involvement of an antiferromagnetic biasing effect or anisotropic exchange. The formation of the energetically unfavorable V-shaped domain transitions is discussed in the context of the magneto-structural phase transition of the sample.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jmmm.2011.02.009
DO - 10.1016/j.jmmm.2011.02.009
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79953169104
SN - 0304-8853
VL - 323
SP - 1840
EP - 1845
JO - Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials
JF - Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials
IS - 14
ER -