Oersted field and spin current effects on magnetic domains in [Co/Pd]15 nanowires

An out-of-plane Oersted field produced from a current-carrying Au wire is used to induce local domain formation in wires made from [Co/Pd]15 multilayers with perpendicular anisotropy. A 100 ns pulsed current of 56-110 mA injected into the Au wire created a reverse domain size of 120-290 nm in a Co/Pd nanowire on one side of the Au wire. A Biot-Savart model was used to estimate the position dependence of the Oersted field around the Au wire. The shape, size and location of the reversed region of Co/Pd was consistent with the magnitude of the Oersted field and the switching field distribution of the unpatterned film. A current density of 6.2 x 10^11 A m-2 in the Co/Pd nanowire did not translate the domain walls due to low spin transfer efficiency, but the Joule heating promoted domain growth in a field below the coercive field.