The Magnetic Properties of Fe/Cu Multilayered Nanowires: The Role of the Number of Fe Layers and Their Thickness

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2021

Authors

Caspani, S (Author) Other; Moraes, S (Author) Other; Navas, D (Author) Other; proenca, m. p. (Author) FCUP; Magalhaes, R (Author) Other; Nunes, C (Author) Other; araujo, j. p. (Author) FCUP; Sousa, CT (Author) FCUP

Journal

Title: Nanomaterials

Vol. 11

Final page: 2729

ISSN: 2079-4991

Publisher: MDPI

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 7 Citations

Scopus - 7 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00V-JFZ

DOI: 10.3390/nano11102729

Abstract (EN): Multi-segmented bilayered Fe/Cu nanowires have been fabricated through the electrodeposition in porous anodic alumina membranes. We have assessed, with the support of micromagnetic simulations, the dependence of fabricated nanostructures' magnetic properties either on the number of Fe/Cu bilayers or on the length of the magnetic layers, by fixing both the nonmagnetic segment length and the wire diameter. The magnetic reversal, in the segmented Fe nanowires (NWs) with a 300 nm length, occurs through the nucleation and propagation of a vortex domain wall (V-DW) from the extremities of each segment. By increasing the number of bilayers, the coercive field progressively increases due to the small magnetostatic coupling between Fe segments, but the coercivity found in an Fe continuous nanowire is not reached, since the interactions between layers is limited by the Cu separation. On the other hand, Fe segments 30 nm in length have exhibited a vortex configuration, with around 60% of the magnetization pointing parallel to the wires' long axis, which is equivalent to an isolated Fe nanodisc. By increasing the Fe segment length, a magnetic reversal occurred through the nucleation and propagation of a V-DW from the extremities of each segment, similar to what happens in a long cylindrical Fe nanowire. The particular case of the Fe/Cu bilayered nanowires with Fe segments 20 nm in length revealed a magnetization oriented in opposite directions, forming a synthetic antiferromagnetic system with coercivity and remanence values close to zero.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 12