Effect of Gilbert damping term on the current induced magnetization switching of ring-shaped spin valve structures

Abstract

In this paper, we present a micromagnetic study of the effect of the Gilbert damping term on the magnetization reversal properties of a ring-shaped PSV. The transition between the two stable vortex states of the storage layer is modeled by applying a write current pulse and considering the effects of the Ampere field and spin-transfer torque. The magnetization switching mechanism is investigated for different amplitude and duration of the current pulse. The optimal switching behavior under varying damping coefficient is discussed. We observe that apart from the current pulse amplitude and duration, the damping coefficient also has a significant effect on magnetization switching properties, especially for short current pulses. © 2007 IEEE.