Search

Magnetic domain walls (DWs) are the finite boundaries that separate the regions of uniform magnetization in a magnetic material. They constitute a key research topic in condensed matter physics due to their intriguing physics and relevance in technological applications. A multitude of spintronic concepts for memory, logic, and data processing applications have been proposed, relying on the precise control of DWs via magnetic fields and electric currents. Intensive research into DWs has also spurred interest into chiral magnetic interactions, topology, and relativistic physics. In this article, we will first review the rapid evolution of magnetic DW research and, in particular, the current-driven DW motion enabled by the improved understanding of DW dynamics and the development of suitable ferrimagnetic thin films. We will then provide an outlook on future directions in DW dynamics research exploiting ferrimagnetic garnets as a tunable material platform.

The interlayer Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (IL-DMI) has recently emerged as an ingredient promoting chiral orthogonal coupling between adjacent magnetic layers in multilayered systems. IL-DMI offers an additional tuning knob to engineer the magnetic behavior in spintronic devices, which could be useful for nonvolatile logic and memory technologies. Here, we systematically study, via first-principles calculations and the three-site Fert-Lévy model, the spacer thickness dependence of the IL-DMI between an out-of-plane ferrimagnet TbCo and an in-plane ferromagnet Co through Pt, Ir, Pd, and Ru. We observed a damped oscillatory behavior with increasing spacer thickness in all cases with characteristic amplitude and periodicity. Furthermore, we established a direct correlation between the IL-DMI and density of states of bottom and top Co atoms, dominated by the spacer thickness, which is attributed to a hybridization of electronic orbitals. Based on this compelling evidence, we propose that the electronic orbital hybridization contributes to the microscopic origin of the IL-DMI metallic magnetic multilayers. We anticipate that our results will provide insights into the understanding and precise control of IL-DMI in a wide range of materials and spintronic device concepts.