Manipulating the magnetization direction of transverse domain walls in Permalloy/Ir strips using nanosecond current pulses

Abstract Using magnetic force microscopy and micromagnetic simulations, we studied the effect of Oersted magnetic fields on transverse magnetic domain walls in Fe 20 Ni 80 /Ir bilayer nanostrips. Applying nanosecond current pulses with a current density of around 2×10 12 A/m 2 , the magnetization direction of a transverse domain wall in the Fe 20 Ni 80 -layer could be switched reversibly and reproducibly. This suggests that in bi- and trilayer strips the Oersted field stabilizes the transverse wall magnetization direction during current-induced domain wall motion and prevents domain wall transformations.