Magnetic Data Storage Device and Method
First Claim
1. A data storage device comprising:
- at least one wire of magnetic material having an anisotropy with an easy axis substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the wire and which is rotated about the longitudinal axis along the length of the wire, wherein the wire is a nanowire or microwire;
each of the at least one wires having associated therewith;
a data input element operable to nucleate magnetic domains in an end of the wire, the domains separated by domain walls substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the wire; and
a data read-out element operable to detect the magnetisation at an end of the wire; and
a magnetic field source operable to generate a rotating magnetic field over the length of the at least one wire, the magnetic field rotating in a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the at least one wire so as to propagate domain walls along the at least one wire.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A data storage device comprises an array of parallel magnetic nanowires each having a uniaxial anisotropy with an easy axis substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the nanowire and which is rotated about the longitudinal axis along the length of the nanowire, and a magnetisation state that follows the easy axis, where each nanowire has a data input element for nucleating magnetic domains separated by domain walls in an end of the nanowire, the sequence of domains and walls representing binary data, and a data read-out element operable to detect the magnetisation at an end of the nanowire, the device also comprising a magnetic field source operable to generate a magnetic field rotating in a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the nanowires so as to propagate domain walls along the at least one nanowire. Reversal of the direction of rotation of the magnetic field reverses the propagation direction of the domain walls, so that data can be moved in either direction along the nanowires.
-
Citations
29 Claims
-
1. A data storage device comprising:
-
at least one wire of magnetic material having an anisotropy with an easy axis substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the wire and which is rotated about the longitudinal axis along the length of the wire, wherein the wire is a nanowire or microwire; each of the at least one wires having associated therewith; a data input element operable to nucleate magnetic domains in an end of the wire, the domains separated by domain walls substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the wire; and a data read-out element operable to detect the magnetisation at an end of the wire; and a magnetic field source operable to generate a rotating magnetic field over the length of the at least one wire, the magnetic field rotating in a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the at least one wire so as to propagate domain walls along the at least one wire. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A method of storing data, comprising:
-
applying a magnetic field to a first end of a wire of magnetic material to nucleate a sequence of magnetic domains separated by domain walls in the end of the wire, the sequence being selected to represent a chosen binary bit stream of data, where the wire has an anisotropy with an easy axis substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the wire and which is rotated about the longitudinal axis along the length of the wire; and applying a rotating magnetic field over the length of the wire, the magnetic field rotating in a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the wire so as to propagate the domain walls along the wire; wherein the wire is a nanowire or microwire. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. A method of fabricating a data storage device, comprising:
-
forming at least one wire of magnetic material by depositing magnetic material in or on a substrate so as to create an anisotropy in the magnetic material which has an easy axis substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the wire and which is rotated about the longitudinal axis along the length of the wire, wherein the wire is a nanowire or microwire; providing in association with each of the at least one wires; data input element operable to nucleate magnetic domains in an end of the wire; and data read-out element operable to detect the magnetisation at an end of the wire; and providing a magnetic field source operable to generate a rotating magnetic field over the length of the at least one wire, the magnetic field rotating in a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the at least one wire so as to propagate domain walls along the at least one wire. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
-
Specification