Strain engineered domain structure and their relaxation in perpendicularly magnetized Co/Pt deposited on flexible polyimide

Abstract

The demand of fast and power efficient spintronic devices with flexibility requires additional energy for magnetization manipulation. Stress/ strain have shown their potentials for tuning magnetic properties to the desired level. Here, we report a systematic study for the effect of both tensile and compressive stresses on the magnetic anisotropy (MA). Further the effect of stress on the domain structure and magnetization relaxation mechanism in a perpendicularly magnetized Co/Pt film has been studied. It is observed that a minimal in-plane tensile strain has increased the coercivity of the film by 33% of its initial value, while a very small change of coercivity has been found under compressive strain. The size of ferromagnetic domains decreases under tensile strain, while no change is observed under the compressive strain. Magnetization relaxation measured at sub-coercive field values yields a longer relaxation time in the strained state.