Voltage-controlled domain wall traps in ferromagnetic nanowires

Electrical control of magnetism has the potential to bring about revolutionary new spintronic devices, many of which rely on efficient manipulation of magnetic domain walls in ferromagnetic nanowires. Recently, it has been shown that voltage-induced charge accumulation at a metal-oxide interface can influence domain wall motion in ultrathin metallic ferromagnets, but the effects have been relatively modest and limited to the slow, thermally activated regime. Here we show that a voltage can generate non-volatile switching of magnetic properties at the nanoscale by modulating interfacial chemistry rather than charge density. Using a solid-state ionic conductor as a gate dielectric, we generate unprecedentedly strong voltage-controlled domain wall traps that function as non-volatile, electrically programmable and switchable pinning sites. Pinning strengths of at least 650 Oe can be readily achieved, enough to bring to a standstill domain walls travelling at speeds of at least ∼20 m s-1. We exploit this new magneto-ionic effect to demonstrate a prototype non-volatile memory device in which voltage-controlled domain wall traps facilitate electrical bit selection in a magnetic nanowire register. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.