Ratchet effect of the domain wall by asymmetric magnetostatic potentials

We investigate a ratchet effect of magnetic domain wall motion in a ferromagnetic nanowire under AC magnetic fields using micromagnetic simulation. The ratchet effect for a transverse domain wall is achieved using an asymmetric magnetic potential generated by stray fields from non-contact trapezoidal ferromagnetic stubs near the straight nanowire. The ratchet phenomenon has been examined with various combinations of amplitude and frequency of the driving AC field. Interestingly, we find that the domain wall propagates along a preferential direction by the diode-like ratchet effect under AC field. The propagation of the domain wall strongly depends on the profile of the asymmetrical magnetic potentials and the driving AC field characteristics. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3658805]