Computational micromagnetism of magnetization processes in nickel nanowires

Ordered sets of interacting ferromagnetic nanowires are complex systems which require numerical simulations for the investigation of their micromagnetic properties. Applying finite element techniques combined with the boundary element method allows to accurately calculate the magnetostatic interaction between several wires. It turns out that for an array of wires the coercive field is significantly lower than it is for a single nanowire. Time-resolved micromagnetic simulations are employed to study the dynamics of the magnetization reversal of single nanowires. With increasing diameter, a nucleation-propagation process is replaced by a curling reversal mode. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.