Honors College Theses

Publication Date

2024

Major

Physics (B.S.P.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (open access)

Faculty Mentor

Jason Liu

Abstract

Magnetic materials possess properties that allow for efficient data storage and transmission. Two important magnetic phenomena are domains and spin waves, both of which are active areas of research. Domains are regions of locally aligned magnetic moments within a material and spin waves are propagating disturbances in the alignment of those moments. A specific type of domain occurs when moments align to form a topological structure known as a magnetic vortex. Vortices are composed of a swirling in-plane magnetization centered around a localized region of out-of-plane magnetization known as a vortex core. A vortex has an in-plane chirality and out-of-plane polarity. In this work, spin waves were used to change the polarity of a vortex core. Studies were conducted with micromagnetic simulations. Radial spin waves were found to be effective in switching the polarity of a vortex in Permalloy disc structures.

Thesis Summary

Magnetic materials can be used to store digital information. A magnetic vortex domain allows for information storage and fast switching by manipulating its highly magnetized vortex core through a process commonly referred to as a vortex core reversal. In this work, the interactions between spin waves and magnetic vortices were investigated to see if spin waves could lead to a vortex core reversal. Through micromagnetic simulations, radial spin waves directly excited inside of thin Permalloy discs were found to trigger a vortex core reversal.

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