Controllable chirality switching of a moving domain wall by oblique magnetic field

A full micromagnetic model and a simplified one-dimensional analytical model are used to investigate the domain wall dynamics driven by an oblique magnetic field. Both models show that the Walker breakdown [N. L. Schryer and L. R. Walker, J. Appl. Phys. 45, 5406 (1974)] can occur at two distinct field strengths. However, the two models exhibit an important discrepancy due to the antivortex injection at the Walker field, which is not taken into account in the analytical model. The chirality of the domain wall is switched controllably when the field strength is in the range between the two Walker fields. The field window for controllable switching becomes broader with increasing oblique field angle or damping constant. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3467456]