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−1 in the single-layer ferrimagnetic spinel oxide NiCo2O4 induced by spin-transfer torque at a current density of 2 × 1011 A m−2. 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.
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The supporting data for this article is openly available from the ETH Research Collection (10.3929/ethz-b-000740603).
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Acknowledgements
This work was partially funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (Grants No. 200021-236524 and 200020-212051), by the National Science Foundation of China (Grants No. 12241401), the Scientific Research Foundation of the Higher Education Institutions for Distinguished Young Scholars in Anhui Province (Grants No. 2022AH020012), and the National Key R&D Program of China (2022YFB3506000), by the facilities at Center of Free Electron Laser & High Magnetic Field (FEL&HMF) in Anhui University. A.E.K acknowledges support from the ETH Zurich Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme (24-1 FEL-038).
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M.W., S.D., X.C., and P.G. conceived the project. S.C., Y.Q., R.W., and X.C. grew and characterized NCO thin films. L.V.S., C.L.D., and M.W. performed NV measurements. M.W., S.D., A.D., and A.E.K. measured domain wall dynamics. M.W., S.D., X.C., and P.G. wrote the manuscript. All authors discussed the data and commented on the manuscript.
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Wu, M., Ding, S., van Schie, L. et al. High-mobility inertial domain walls driven by spin-transfer torque in a ferrimagnetic spinel oxide. Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71290-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71290-6


