Textured heterogeneity in square artificial spin ice

Authors

J. C.T. Lee, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
S. K. Mishra, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
V. S. Bhat, University of Kentucky
R. Streubel, Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryFollow
B. Farmer, University of Kentucky
X. Shi, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
L. E. De Long, University of Kentucky
I. McNulty, Argonne National Laboratory
P. Fischer, Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryFollow
S. D. Kevan, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
S. Roy, Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryFollow

Date of this Version

1-7-2019

Document Type

Article

Citation

PHYSICAL REVIEW B 99, 024406 (2019)

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.99.024406

Comments

©2019 American Physical Society. Used by per mission.

Abstract

We report evidence of spontaneous formation of a heterogeneous network of superdomains in two-dimensional square artificial spin ice nanostructures in externally applied magnetic fields. Coherent resonant soft-x-ray scattering from such textures gives rise to unique internal structure in Bragg peaks. The magnetic heterogeneity is locally disordered but has a zigzag texture at longer length scales. Our result suggests that the macroscopic magnetic texture is derived from the microscopic structure of the Dirac strings.