Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

Publication Title

Journal of Applied Physics

Volume

111

Issue

7

First Page

07C706

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3671784

Abstract

Many low-dimensional systems, such as nanoscale islands, thin films, and multilayers, as well as bulk systems, such as multiferroics, are characterized by the lack of inversion symmetry, a fact that may give rise to a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction. For sufficient strength, the DM interaction will favor spiral spin configurations of definite chirality. In order to harness such systems for applications, it is important to understand the conditions under which these spiral spin configurations form and how they can be controlled via an external field. Here, we present exact solutions of the 1D magnetization profiles in such systems for arbitrary material parameters in closed form. Determining the energy per unit length exactly, we are able to present the critical strength of the DM interaction, at which spiral solutions are energetically favorable. These magnetization profiles, in general, take the form of a domain wall or soliton lattice, with all solitons having the same chirality, whose sign is dictated by DM interaction. Conversely, given an energetically favorable spiral solution, we determine quantitatively how the magnetization profile changes as a function of the applied field.

Rights

This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in J. Appl. Phys. 111, 07C706 (2012); and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3671784

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