Magnetization reversal in thin ferromagnetic films under mechanical stress

A simple micromagnetic model is presented to study the effect of stress on the magnetization reversal in thin ferromagnetic films ( well-known as inverse magnetostrictive effect). To simplify the calculations the plane strains are confined to be uniform. The externally applied magnetic field is oriented either, parallel or perpendicular to the stress direction. For coherent magnetization reversal, analytical relations between coercivity and stress and remanence and stress were obtained. The nucleation modes and fields for nonuniform, one-dimensional magnetization reversal were calculated. From our analysis we conclude that the stress dependence of coercivity is qualitatively the same with related experiments. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.