Bubble domain propagation using oscillating stripe domains

Abstract

Disclosed is an apparatus for and a method of propagating bubble domains along fixed guidance channel forming stripe domains by capturing them in moveable stripe domains and then moving the capturing moveable stripe domains. The memory plane comprises a non-magnetic Gadolinium Gallium Garnet (GGG) layer which is a supporting substrate upon which are successively formed by the liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) method: a first stripe domain layer, a first non-magnetic spacer layer; a bubble domain layer; a second non-magnetic spacer layer; a second stripe domain layer; and a third non-magnetic spacer layer upon which is formed the necessary propagation circuitry. The method of propagating the bubble domains involves forming fixed guidance channel forming stripe domains in the first stripe domain layer, orienting moveable stripe domains in the second stripe domain layer in a direction orthogonal to the direction of the fixed guidance channels, establishing bubble domains in the bubble domain layer at selected ones of each fixed guidance channel, moveable stripe domain intersection and finally oscillating the moveable stripe domains in a direction parallel to the fixed guidance channels by a time-varying, i.e., temporally changing, localized bias field gradient. A moveable stripe domain in a first position under a bias field gradient producing strip line captures a bubble domain, slowly moves the bubble domain a predetermined propagation direction under the strip line and along its associated fixed guidance channel into a second position under the strip line and then subsequently quickly moves back to its first position under the strip line allowing the bubble domain to escape therefrom leaving the propagated, escaped bubble domain in the second position under the strip line to be captured by a next adjacent downstream moveable stripe domain. Successive capture, propagate, escape operations propagate all the bubble domains along each capturing moveable stripe domain, in parallel, in the downstream propagation direction through the memory plane.