Low-Noise Nanoscale Vortex Sensor for Out-of-Plane Magnetic Field Detection

This study investigates a vortex sensor based on a nanoscale (sub-100 nm) magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) with a strong shape anisotropy, designed for sensitivity to the out-of-plane magnetic field component (<i>H</i>_<i>z</i>). The sensor comprises a free layer with a vortex configuration and a perpendicularly magnetized reference layer, which provides a reproducible and linear response when excited by a perpendicular magnetic field. Experimental measurements and micromagnetic simulations were combined to systematically assess the influence of structural parameters, specifically aspect ratio and defect landscape, on key sensor performance metrics, including dynamic range, sensitivity, and detectivity. The out-of-plane vortex sensor demonstrates a significantly improved dynamic range exceeding 200 mT, compared to the 40-80 mT typical of conventional in-plane vortex sensors. Frequency-dependent noise measurements reveal that the sensor exhibits low intrinsic noise, along with improved detectivity and resolution. This performance is ascribed to the field-dependent expansion and contraction of the vortex core, which reduces Barkhausen-type noise caused by defect-induced pinning potentials. Moreover, the sub-100 nm lateral dimensions of the sensor enable scalable array integration, providing further enhancements in noise and detectivity through collective averaging. These results underscore the potential of this sensor architecture for advanced magnetic field sensing applications requiring a wide dynamic range and high measurement accuracy at the same time.