High domain wall velocities in in-plane magnetized (Ga,Mn)(As,P) layers

L. Thevenard (1) , Syed Asad Hussain (1) , Hans Jürgen von Bardeleben (2, 1) , Mathieu Bernard (1, 3) , A Lemaitre (4) , C. Gourdon (1, 3)

1 INSP - Institut des Nanosciences de Paris
2 INSP-E5 - Couches nanométriques : formation, interfaces, défauts
3 INSP-E1 - Nanostructures et systèmes quantiques
4 LPN - Laboratoire de photonique et de nanostructures

Field-induced domain wall (DW) propagation was evidenced in unpatterned layers of in-plane magnetized Ga1−xMnxAs1−yPy using Kerr microscopy. Both stationary and precessional regimes were observed, and domain wall velocities of up to 500 m s −1 were measured, of the order of magnitude of those observed on in-plane magnetized metals. Taking advantage of the strain-dependent magneto-crystalline anisotropy in this dilute magnetic semiconductor, both out-of-plane and in-plane anisotropies were adjusted by varying the manganese and phosphorus concentrations. We demonstrate that these anisotropies are a critical parameter to obtain large velocities. These results are interpreted in the framework of the one-dimensional model for domain wall propagation.

Domaines: Physique [physics]

L. Thevenard, Syed Asad Hussain, Hans Jürgen von Bardeleben, Mathieu Bernard, A Lemaitre, et al.. High domain wall velocities in in-plane magnetized (Ga,Mn)(As,P) layers. Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics (1998-2015), 2012, 85, pp.064419. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevB.85.064419⟩. ⟨hal-01324084⟩