Micromagnetic and transport simulation of magnetic nanostructures

Abstract

In this thesis, the magnetic and transport properties of two important magnetic nanostructures, the antidot array and spin-valve (SV) magnetic nanostructures, are investigated. First, a transport model was presented to study the lateral transport properties of antidot array, which considers the inhomogeneous current density distribution, Planar and normal Hall effects. Then we investigated the mechanism of current-induced magnetization switching (CIMS) in SV structures. A theoretical model was presented which combines the contributions from the absorbed spin current due to the ballistic scattering at interfaces, and relaxation of the transverse spin current within each layer. The spin torque effect and critical current are determined as well, which agrees well with experimental observations. Furthermore, this model was applied to a PSV with Ru capping layer to explore the possibility of reducing critical current. These studies increases the prospect of utilizing this new switching method in future spintronics devices, e.g. in MRAMs.