Fabrication of scaffold-based 3D magnetic nanowires for domain wall applications

Sanz-Hernández, D. et al. (2018) Fabrication of scaffold-based 3D magnetic nanowires for domain wall applications. Nanomaterials, 8(7), 483. (doi: 10.3390/nano8070483) (PMID:29966338) (PMCID:PMC6071276)

Abstract

Three-dimensional magnetic nanostructures hold great potential to revolutionize information technologies and to enable the study of novel physical phenomena. In this work, we describe a hybrid nanofabrication process combining bottom-up 3D nano-printing and top-down thin film deposition, which leads to the fabrication of complex magnetic nanostructures suitable for the study of new 3D magnetic effects. First, a non-magnetic 3D scaffold is nano-printed using Focused Electron Beam Induced Deposition; then a thin film magnetic material is thermally evaporated onto the scaffold, leading to a functional 3D magnetic nanostructure. Scaffold geometries are extended beyond recently developed single-segment geometries by introducing a dual-pitch patterning strategy. Additionally, by tilting the substrate during growth, low-angle segments can be patterned, circumventing a major limitation of this nano-printing process; this is demonstrated by the fabrication of ‘staircase’ nanostructures with segments parallel to the substrate. The suitability of nano-printed scaffolds to support thermally evaporated thin films is discussed, outlining the importance of including supporting pillars to prevent deformation during the evaporation process. Employing this set of methods, a set of nanostructures tailored to precisely match a dark-field magneto-optical magnetometer have been fabricated and characterized. This work demonstrates the versatility of this hybrid technique and the interesting magnetic properties of the nanostructures produced, opening a promising route for the development of new 3D devices for applications and fundamental studies.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This research is funded by an EPSRC Early Career Fellowship EP/M008517/1, a Winton Fellowship, a Girton College Pfeiffer Scholarship, a European Erasmus Mobility program, a Royal Society Research Grant RG170262, a Royal Society University Research Fellowship UF120277 and the EPSRC CDT in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology EP/L015978/1.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Fernandez-Pacheco, Dr Amalio

Creator Roles

Fernández-Pacheco, A.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Resources, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition

• Authors: Sanz-Hernández, D., Hamans, R., Osterrieth, J., Liao, J.-W., Skoric, L., Fowlkes, J., Rack, P., Lippert, A., Lee, S., Lavrijsen, R., and Fernández-Pacheco, A.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
• Journal Name: Nanomaterials
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2079-4991
• ISSN (Online): 2079-4991
• Published Online: 30 June 2018
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2018 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Nanomaterials 8(7): 483
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License