New type of domain walls: Domain walls caused by frustrations in multilayer magnetic nanostructures

Roughness of the interfaces between layers in a multilayer magnetic structure causes frustration of the exchange interaction between spins. Under certain conditions, frustration brings about the formation of domain walls (DWs) of a new type, whose parameters are determined by the competition between different exchange interactions rather than between the exchange and anisotropy energies as is the case with conventional DWs. Such DWs are much sharper than conventional DWs. The conditions under which micro- (nano-) domains arise are considered, and magnetic phase diagrams for ferromagnet-nonmagnetic metal-ferromagnet and ferromagnet-antiferromagnet nanostructures are discussed. (C) 2004 MAIK "Nauka / Interperiodica".