High-mobility inertial domain walls driven by spin-transfer torque in a ferrimagnetic spinel oxide.

Wu, Mingxing; Ding, Shilei; van Schie, Laura; Cai, Shenghao; Qiu, Yuhao; Du, Ao; Kossak, Alexander E; Wu, Rui et al. · Nat Commun · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Efficient electrical manipulation of domain walls is key to developing magnetic devices with fast switching capabilities and low energy consumption. Here we demonstrate Bloch-type domain wall velocities exceeding 1 km s<sup>-1</sup> in the single-layer ferrimagnetic spinel oxide NiCo<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> induced by spin-transfer torque at a current density of 2 × 10<sup>11 </sup>A m<sup>-2</sup>. This exceptional domain wall mobility is attributed to the combination of giant nonadiabatic spin-transfer torque, low magnetization, and high spin polarization. Additionally, we report a pronounced domain wall inertia effect in this ferrimagnet due to the large nonadiabaticity of the torque. The characteristic time for domain wall acceleration and deceleration is ~ 1 ns, shorter than that reported for typical ferromagnets. Our findings highlight the potential of spinel oxides as a promising platform for engineering high-performance domain wall devices that take advantage of ultrafast ferrimagnetic dynamics.