Robustness of the enhanced magnetic anisotropy in Ni nanowires regardless of the deposition potential

• Published in: Journal of magnetism and magnetic materials 2020-03, Vol.497, p.165992, Article 165992
• Main Authors: Velázquez-Galván, Y., de la Torre Medina, J., Piraux, L., Encinas, A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anisotropy; Confinement; Deposition; Deposition potential; Enhanced anisotropy; Magnetic anisotropy; Magnetic properties; Nanowires; Nickel
• ISSN: 0304-8853; 1873-4766
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmmm.2019.165992

[Display omitted] •Very long Ni nanowires exhibit an enhanced uniaxial magnetic anisotropy.•The enhanced anisotropy of Ni nanowires is little sensitive to the potential.•The large magnetic anisotropy is related with the confinement of the nanowires. The effects of the deposition potential on the structural and magnetic properties of Ni nanowires with a diameter of 40 nm and lengths varying from 16 up to 56 μm have been studied. The results show that very long NWs exhibit a large enhancement of their uniaxial magnetic anisotropy. This anisotropy reaches values as high as 1.6 × 106 erg/cm3 that is comparable with the value due to the magnetostatic anisotropy contribution (≈ 5 × 106 erg/cm3) and as shown from the results this large anisotropy is practically insensitive to the deposition potential. Moreover, as shown on shorter NWs, this enhancement of the anisotropy is not observed and interestingly the potential does induce structural changes that relate to their magnetic properties. The enhanced anisotropy observed in long NWs is a robust effect as it is independent of the potential, making this property attractive for applications where high uniaxial anisotropies are required.