Domain wall depinning from notches using combined in- and out-of-plane magnetic fields

Controlled domain wall motion and pinning in nanowires with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy are of great importance in modern magnetic memory and logic devices. Here, we investigate by experiment the DW pinning and depinning from a notch in a magnetic nanowire, under the influence of combined in-and out-of-plane magnetic fields. In our experiment, the perpendicular magnetization of the Co/Pt nanowires is tilted with the help of sub-mu s in-plane field pulses generated by an on-chip coil. Consequently, the energy density of the DW is decreased and the depinning field of the notch is reduced. A theoretical model is applied and compared to the measurement results. The DW depinning mechanism and the DW type are further investigated by micromagnetic simulations. (C) 2016 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.