  Inverse magnetostriction is the effect by which magnetization can be changed
upon application of stress/strain. A strain modulation may be created
electrically by exciting interdigitated transducers to generate surface
acoustic waves (SAWs). Hence SAWs appear as a possible route towards
induction-free undulatory magnetic data manipulation. Here we demonstrate
experimentally on an out-of-plane magnetostrictive layer a reduction of the
coercive field of up to 60$\%$ by a SAW, over millimetric distances. A simple
model shows that this spectacular effect can be partly explained by the
periodic lowering of the strain-dependent domain nucleation energy by the SAW.
This proof of concept was done on (Ga,Mn)(As,P), a magnetic semiconductor in
which the out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy can be made very weak by epitaxial
growth; it should guide material engineering for all-acoustic magnetization
switching.
