Magnetic Anisotropy Engineering in Thin Film Ni Nanostructures by Magnetoelastic Coupling

A phenomenon that can be exploited for the manipulation of magnetization without the conventional current-generated magnetic fields is magnetoelastic coupling, which might, thus, pave the way for low-power data-storage devices. Here, we report a quantitative analysis of the magnetic uniaxial anisotropy induced by piezoelectric strain in Ni nanostructured squares. By applying strain, the magnetic domains in Ni nanostructured squares can be manipulated by the magnetoelastic effect in the Ni. The strain-induced anisotropy displaces the domain walls in the square leading to changes in the domain sizes. By comparing the experiments with micromagnetic simulations, the resulting uniaxial anisotropy is quantified. We find a good agreement for a magnetostrictive constant of lambda(s) = -26 ppm, confirming a full strain transfer from the piezoelectric to the Ni nanostructures and the retainment of a bulklike lambda(s).