A sound idea: Manipulating domain walls in magnetic nanowires using surface acoustic waves

We propose a method of pinning and propagating domain walls in artificial multiferroic nanowires using electrically induced surface acoustic waves. Using finite-element micromagnetic simulations and 1D semi-analytical modelling, we demonstrate how a pair of interdigitated acoustic transducers can remotely induce an array of attractive domain wall pinning sites by forming a standing stress/strain wave along a nanowire's length. Shifts in the frequencies of the surface acoustic waves allow multiple domain walls to be synchronously transported at speeds up to 50 ms−1. Our study lays the foundation for energy-efficient domain wall devices that exploit the low propagation losses of surface acoustic waves to precisely manipulate large numbers of data bits.