9310460 Berger This project will investigate the interaction between a magnetic domain Bloch walls and an applied electric currents in nickel-iron alloys. The interaction depends on the magnetic exchange interactions between the transport electron and the localized magnetic atoms. The wall displacements will be measured over a range of current densities. The critical current for incipient wall displacement and the displacement as a function of pulse width will also be investigated. These measurements will be done in a number of samples in the range 10-1000 nm. The anisotropy of the response will be determined using ferrofluids or polarizing microscopes. The primary objective is to understand the detailed role of the Bloch wall lines as contributor to magnetoresistance in the thin film materials. %%% In this project, the influence of an electric current on the properties of a magnetic alloys of nickel and iron. Iron and nickel atoms act like miniature bar magnets. In certain regions of the sample, called magnetic domains, these atomic magnets all point in the same direction. The displacement of these domains induced by an electric current flowing through the materials will be investigated. The magnitude of these displacements will be determined for various values of the current density, and in samples of various thicknesses. Such motion of magnetic domains may be used for storage of information in computer memories. ***
