We report on self-assembled iron oxide nanoparticle films on silicon substrates. In addition to homogeneously assembled layers, we fabricated patterned trenches of 40-1000 nm width using electron beam lithography for the investigation of assisted sel
f-assembly. The nanoparticles with a diameter of 20 nm +/- 7% were synthesized by thermal decomposition of iron oleate complexes in trioctylamine in presence of oleic acid. Samples with different track widths and nanoparticle concentration were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and by superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry.
We report about a combined structural and magnetometric characterization of self-assembled magnetic nanoparticle arrays. Monodisperse iron oxide nanoparticles with a diameter of 20 nm were synthesized by thermal decomposition. The nanoparticle suspen
sion was spin-coated on Si substrates to achieve self-organized arrays of particles and subsequently annealed at various conditions. The samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction, bright and dark field high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The structural analysis is compared to the magnetic behavior investigated by superconducting interference device (SQUID) magnetometry. We can identify either multi-phase FeO/g-Fe2O3 or multi-phase FeO/Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The FeO/g-Fe2O3 system shows a pronounced exchange bias effect which explains the peculiar magnetization data obtained for this system.
Artificial spin ice offers the possibility to investigate a variety of dipolar orderings, spin frustrations and ground states. However, the most fascinating aspect is the realization that magnetic charge order can be established without spin order. W
e have investigated magnetic dipoles arranged on a honeycomb lattice as a function of applied field, using magnetic force microscopy. For the easy direction with the field parallel to one of the three dipole sublattices we observe at coercivity a maximum of spin frustration and simultaneously a maximum of charge order of magnetic monopoles with alternating charges $pm$ 3.
The magnetization reversal and spin structure in circular Co/insulator/Ni80Fe20 trilayer dots has been investigated numerically. The effect of dipolar coupling between a soft ferromagnetic Permalloy (Py=Ni80Fe20) layer and a hard ferromagnetic Cobalt
layer inside one stack is studied. We find either a stabilization or even a triggering of the vortex state in the Py layer due to the magnetic stray field of the Co layer, while the Co magnetization remains in a single-domain state. Furthermore, for thin Py layers a 360 deg-domain wall is observed. We construct a phase diagram, where regions of vortex stabilization, triggering, and occurrence of a 360 deg domain wall are marked.
The domain wall nucleation and motion processes in Permalloy nanowires with a thickness gradient along the nanowire axis have been studied. Nanowires with widths, w = 250 nm to 3 um and a base thickness of t = 10 nm were fabricated by electron-beam l
ithography. The magnetization hysteresis loops measured on individual nanowires are compared to corresponding nanowires without a thickness gradient. The Hc vs. t/w curves of wires with and without a thickness gradient are discussed and compared to micromagnetic simulations. We find a metastability regime at values of w, where a transformation from transverse to vortex domain wall type is expected.
