Dynamic Notch Pinning Fields for Domain Walls in Ferromagnetic Nanowires

Artificial defects such as notches and antinotches are often attached to magnetic nanowires to serve as trapping (pinning) sites for domain walls. The magnetic field necessary to release (depin) the trapped domain wall from the notch depends on the type, geometric shape, and dimensions of the defect but is typically quite large. Conversely we show here that for some notches and antinotches there exists a much smaller driving field for which a moving domain wall will travel past the defect without becoming trapped. This dynamic pinning field also depends on the type, geometric shape and defect dimensions. Micromagnetic simulation is used to investigate both the static and dynamic pinning fields and their relation to the topologic structure of the domain wall.