Domain wall motion in synthetic Co2Si nanowires

We report the synthesis of single crystalline Co(2)Si nanowires and the electrical transport studies of single Co(2)Si nanowire devices at low temperature. The butterfly shaped magnetoresistance shows interesting ferromagnetic features, including negative magnetoresistance, hysteretic switch fields, and stepwise drops in magnetoresistance. The nonsmooth stepwise magnetoresistance response is attributed to magnetic domain wall pinning and depinning motion in the Co(2)Si nanowires probably at crystal or morphology defects. The temperature dependence of the domain wall depinning field is observed and described by a model based on thermally assisted domain wall depinning over a single energy barrier.     

Vortex domain wall formation in permalloy nanowires with geometric pinning sites

An optimal geometric pinning site on Permalloy nanowires of varying widths has been investigated and applied in a magnetic memory scenario using micromagnetic simulations. Minimal limits on two key factors; the applied field length and the domain wall formation length are established such that vortex domain walls are reliably formed in the structures to facilitate lower powered domain wall movement using spin-polarised current. The symmetric wires with the nanoconstrictions at both sides have been found to favour the formation of the vortex domain wall compared with the asymmetric wires with the nanoconstrictions at only one side of the wires. The detailed micromagnetic simulations show that the domain wall formation length and the applied field length are optimal to form the vortex domain walls when they are equal to the nanowire width.     

Mechanics and dynamics of the strain-induced M1-M2 structural phase transition in individual VO₂ nanowires

The elastic properties and structural phase transitions of individual VO(2) nanowires were studied using an in situ push-to-pull microelectromechanical device to realize quantitative tensile analysis in a transmission electron microscope and a synchrotron X-ray microdiffraction beamline. A plateau was detected in the stress-strain curve, signifying superelasticity of the nanowire arising from the M1-M2 structural phase transition. The transition was induced and controlled by uniaxial tension. The transition dynamics were characterized by a one-dimensionally aligned domain structure with pinning and depinning of the domain walls along the nanowire. From the stress-strain dependence the Young's moduli of the VO(2) M1 and M2 phases were estimated to be 128 ± 10 and 156 ± 10 GPa, respectively. Single pinning and depinning events of M1-M2 domain wall were observed in the superelastic regime, allowing for evaluation of the domain wall pinning potential energy. This study demonstrates a new way to investigate nanoscale mechanics and dynamics of structural phase transitions in general.     

Oscillatory reduction of domain wall depinning field by transverse magnetic field in ferromagnetic permalloy nanowires

Reported herein is a possible way of controlling the depinning field of magnetic domain walls (DWs) by using a magnetic field H(T) transverse to the nanowire. A typical notch structure-in the form of triangles on both edges of ferromagnetic Permalloy nanowires-is employed to pin the DWs. The depinning field of the DW initially pinned at the notch is then measured with respect to H(T). Interestingly, it is experimentally found that the depinning field is drastically decreased to almost 0 with increasing H(T), due to the internal shift of the DW position at the notch. Moreover, it is experimentally observed that an oscillatory behavior of the depinning field occurs with respect to H(T), Micromagnetic calculation is performed to model the depinning behavior of the DW pinned at the notch structure with respect to H(T). It is ascribed to the natural edge roughness of the nanowire, which means the edge roughness plays an important role in determination of the depinning field.     

Micromagnetic simulation of domain wall pinning and domain wall motion

Domain wall pinning is the coercivity mechanism of permanent magnets used in high temperature applications. In SmCo based magnets domain walls get trapped at the cellular precipitation structure causing a high coercive field. The motion of domain walls and their propagation velocity are important in soft magnets as used in sensor applications. A finite element micromagnetic algorithm was developed to study the motion of domain walls in complex microstructures. The cellular microstructure of SmCo magnets or the cylindrical soft wires can be easily built using tetrahedral finite elements. The pinning of the domain walls has been studied for different material compositions. Attractive and repulsive domain wall pinning are observed and their behaviour for increasing thickness of the precipitation structure is explained. The motion of domains in magnetic nanowires was calculated using adaptive mesh refinement. The wall velocity strongly depends on the domain wall structure. Transverse and vortex walls have been observed and their velocity in wires of different thickness has been studied.     

SnO2-nanowires grown by catalytic oxidation of tin sputtered thin films for formaldehyde detection

The aim of the present work is to test the sensing behaviour of tin dioxide nanowires, which have been grown directly onto a sensing device. This device consists in an alumina substrate provided with platinum interdigitated microelectrodes and a Pt heater on the reverse side. The nanowire growing process based on a vapour-liquid-solid method consists of three steps: deposition of a tin thin film by DC sputtering, a 5 nm-thick Au layer deposition and an annealing treatment in the presence of oxygen for the growth of the SnO₂ nanowires.These samples have been tested under different concentrations of formaldehyde (HCHO), showing a high sensitivity and very short response and recovery times even at low operating temperatures (130 °C).     

Magnetoresistance of Domain Walls in?Superconductor/Ferromagnet Hybrid Systems

The anisotropic magnetoresistance of single domain walls in S/F hybrid devices was studied with a view of examining the superconducting proximity effect at a single domain wall. By changing the geometry of a Py/Nb nanowire, the character of the domain wall that is nucleated can be controlled. The pinning of both vortex and transverse domain walls at narrow notches in the wires was investigated. In addition, the effect of the interfacial transparency between a superconductor and ferromagnet is also briefly discussed, showing a reduction of the superconducting proximity effect with poorer transparency.     

Hybrid nanostructures of titanium-decorated ZnO nanowires

Hybrid nanostructures of titanium (Ti)-decorated zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire were synthesized. Various thick Ti films (6 nm, 10 nm, and 20 nm) were coated to form a titanium oxide (TiO) coating layer around ZnO nanowires. Transmission electron microscope analysis was performed to verify the crystallinity and phases of the TiO layers according to the Ti-coating thickness. Under UV illumination, a bare ZnO nanowire showed a conventional n-type conducting performances. With a Ti coating on a ZnO nanowire, it was converted to a p-type conductor due to the existence of electron-captured oxygen molecules. It discusses the fabrication of Ti-decorated ZnO nanowires including the working mechanisms with respect to UV light.     

Control of domain wall pinning in ferromagnetic nanowires by magnetic stray fields

We have found that the depinning field of domain walls (DWs) in permalloy (Ni(81)Fe(19)) nanowires can be experimentally controlled by interactions between magnetic stray fields and artificial constrictions. A pinning geometry that consists of a notch and a nanobar is considered, where a DW traveling in the nanowire is pinned by the notch with a nanobar vertical to it. We have found that the direction of magnetization of the nanobar affects the shape and local energy minimum of the potential landscape experienced by the DW; therefore, the pinning strength strongly depends on the interaction of the magnetic stray field from the nanobar with the external pinning force of the notch. The mechanism of this pinning behavior is applied for the instant and flexible control of the pinning strength with respect to various DW motions in DW-mediated magnetic memory devices.     

Mild and facile synthesis of Ag2S nanowire precursor using mercaptoacetic acid as a reductant/stabilizer and its subsequent conversion to Ag2S or CdS nanowires

Silver sulfide nanowire precursor was prepared at room temperature by simple mixing of mercaptoacetic acid (MAA) and silver nitrate solutions for 10–20 min duration. The MAA concentration in the chemical reaction bath was varied from 1 to 10 mM to afford nanowire precursors ranging in length from 800 nm to 42 μm and diameters ranging from 53 to 210 nm. The chemical identity of the precursor was established as a Ag⁺–⁻SCH₂COOH complex by a variety of spectroscopic probes. It could be converted into crystalline Ag₂S nanowires (with no alteration in nanowire dimensions) by a thermal anneal at ∼300 °C. Reverse cation exchange of the Ag₂S nanowire precursor in a Cd²⁺-containing medium afforded CdS nanowires (with some alterations in morphology) whose chemical identity was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence. Finally the dual role of MAA as a capping agent and reducing agent in the formation of the Ag₂S nanowire precursor complex is briefly discussed.     

Growth and characterization of germanium nanowires by electron beam evaporation

Germanium nanowires were grown on Au coated Si substrates at 380 °C in a high vacuum (5 × 10^− 5 Torr) by e-beam evaporation of Germanium (Ge). The morphology observation by a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) shows that the grown nanowires are randomly oriented with an average length and diameter of 600 nm and 120 nm respectively for a deposition time of 60 min. The nanowire growth rate was measured to be ∼ 10 nm/min. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) studies revealed that the Ge nanowires were single crystalline in nature and further energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) has shown that the tip of the grown nanowires was capped with Au nanoparticles, this shows that the growth of the Ge nanowires occurs by the vapour liquid solid (VLS) mechanism. HRTEM studies on the grown Ge nanowire show that they are single crystalline in nature and the growth direction was identified to be along [110].     

Field emission properties of electrodeposited cobalt nanowire arrays grown in anodic aluminum oxide

The excellent vertically aligned cobalt nanowire arrays were electrodeposited into anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates. Each nanowire has the same length with 20 μm and the diameter with 60 nm. The field emission characteristics of the nanowires were firstly studied based on current-voltage measurements and the Fowler-Nordheim equation. The electron field emission measurements on the samples showed a turn-on field (1 mA/cm²) of 1.66 V/μm, a field enhancement factor of β = 3054 and a current density of 600 mA/cm² at a relatively low voltage of 4.3 V/μm. The nanowire arrays could be an ideal alternative to carbon nanotubes and ZnO nanowires for the fabrication of flat panel displays.     

Water repellent ZnO nanowire arrays synthesized by simple solvothermal technique

The authors report on the water repellent properties of quasialigned zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire arrays grown by low-temperature solvothermal technique. The uniform and dense ZnO nanowires of average diameter ∼ 75 nm have been found to have hexagonal wurtzite type structure. The as synthesized ZnO nanowire surfaces have hydrophilic nature with a water contact angle of 73° ± 3°. The superhydrophobic behavior with a water contact angle of 145° ± 3° of the nanowire arrays has been realized due to the reduction of surface free energy after being coated with an octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) monolayer. This work may be of huge importance from the viewpoint of both the understanding of the mechanisms involved and industrial applications.     

Microstructure and magnetic properties of electrodeposited Co/Cu multilayer nanowire arrays

Highly uniform Co/Cu multilayer nanowire arrays had been electrodeposited into the nanochannels of porous anodic aluminum oxide template. X-ray diffraction pattern showed that Co and Cu grow in their HCP and FCC structures, respectively. Each nanowire had the same length with 20 μm and the diameter with 50 nm. The thickness of Co was 50 nm and Cu layer was about 5 nm. Magnetic measurements of the nanowire arrays showed that the magnetic coercivity for the applied field parallel to the nanowires is larger than that perpendicular to the anowires. The magnetic coercivity of Co multilayer nanowire arrays is smaller than that of the Co/Cu nanowire arrays and the crystal direction of Co layers were not obviously affected by Cu layer. The Co/Cu nanowire arrays exhibited excellent Giant Magneto Resistive ratio of about 75%.     

Magnetization Reversal for Ni Nanowires Studied by Micromagnetic Simulations

The magnetization reversal mechanisms for Ni nanowires with different diameters were investigated by mi-cromagnetic simulations. The results show that the reversal mechanisms are significantly dependent on the diameter of wire. For very thin wires, the reversal occurs by pseudo-coherent rotation. With increasing diam- eter, magnetization reversal takes place via different nucleation (the transverse domain wall and the vortex domain wall) and subsequent propagation. The reason of transition from the transver...     

Ultralong zinc-blende ZnS nanowires grown on polar C face of 6H-SiC substrates at low temperatures by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

Ultralong ZnS nanowires with high purity were grown on Au-coated polar C face of 6H-SiC substrates via metalorganic chemical vapor deposition at low temperatures. The ZnS nanowires have zinc-blende structure and the length is up to tens of micrometers. HRTEM investigations show that the nanowires are well crystalline single crystal grown along [1 1 1] and free of bulk defects. However, sparse straight and curved nanowires with poor crystalline nature are randomly grown on the Au-coated Si face of 6H-SiC substrates. We deduce that the growth of ZnS is related to the substrates and C face can enhance Au-catalytic VLS growth. The CL spectra of an individual nanowire grown on C and Si face reveal different optical properties. Intrinsic sulfur and zinc vacancies are the main reasons for the 458.1 nm and 459.2 nm blue emission detected in the nanowire grown on C face and Si face, respectively. Nevertheless, an unusual green emission at 565.1 nm is observed in the poor crystalline nanowire grown on Si face, which originates from the bulk defects.     

ZnO nanowire growth by electric current heating method: A study on the effect of substrate temperature

In this study, we report the growth of ZnO nanowire on quartz glass substrates with Au-catalyst assistance by electric current heating of ZnO ceramic bar. The effect of substrate temperature on the properties of ZnO nanostructures has been investigated systematically. Structural analysis indicates that the grown ZnO crystals belong to hexagonal phase with preferential growth along (0 0 2) orientation. Scanning electron microscopic studies reveal the aligned ZnO nanowires were grown at 800 °C. The typical length and diameter of nanowires are in the uniform ranges of 4–20 μm and 20–100 nm, respectively, showing their high aspect ratio of about 1000. We have made an attempt to discuss about the change in ZnO nanostructures with different substrate temperatures and the possible mechanism for the growth of nanowires. Optical reflectance studies show the infrared reflectivity was controlled through the substrate temperature.     

Optical properties of ZnO nanowire arrays electrodeposited on n- and p-type Si(1 1 1): Effects of thermal annealing

Electrodeposition is a low temperature and low cost growth method of high quality nanostructured active materials for optoelectronic devices. We report the electrochemical preparation of ZnO nanorod/nanowire arrays on n-Si(1 1 1) and p-Si(1 1 1). The effects of thermal annealing and type of substrates on the optical properties of ZnO nanowires electroplated on silicon (1 1 1) substrate are reported. We fabricated ZnO nanowires/p-Si structure that exhibits a strong UV photoluminescence emission and a negligible visible emission. This UV photoluminescence emission proves to be strongly influenced by the thermal annealing at 150-800 °C. Photo-detectors have been fabricated based on the ZnO nanowires/p-Si heterojunction.     

Fast current-induced domain-wall motion controlled by the Rashba effect

The propagation of magnetic domain walls induced by spin-polarized currents has launched new concepts for memory and logic devices. A wave of studies focusing on permalloy (NiFe) nanowires has found evidence for high domain-wall velocities (100 m s(-1); refs,), but has also exposed the drawbacks of this phenomenon for applications. Often the domain-wall displacements are not reproducible, their depinning from a thermally stable position is difficult and the domain-wall structural instability (Walker breakdown) limits the maximum velocity. Here, we show that the combined action of spin-transfer and spin-orbit torques offers a comprehensive solution to these problems. In an ultrathin Co nanowire, integrated in a trilayer with structural inversion asymmetry (SIA), the high spin-torque efficiency facilitates the depinning and leads to high mobility, while the SIA-mediated Rashba field controlling the domain-wall chirality stabilizes the Bloch domain-wall structure. Thus, the high-mobility regime is extended to higher current densities, allowing domain-wall velocities up to 400 m s(-1).     

Silicon nanowire array films as advanced anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Silicon nanowire array films were prepared by metal catalytic etching method and applied as anode materials for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The films completely consisted of silicon nanowires that were single crystals. Aluminum films were plated on the backs of the silicon nanowire films and then annealed in an argon atmosphere to improve electronic contact and conduction. In addition to easy preparation and low cost, the silicon nanowire film electrodes exhibited large lithium storage capacity and good cycling performance. The first discharge and charge capacities were 3653 mAh g⁻¹ and 2409 mAh g⁻¹, respectively, at a rate of 150 mA g⁻¹ between 2 and 0.02 V. A stable reversible capacity of about 1000 mAh g⁻¹ was maintained after 30 cycles. The good properties were ascribed to the silicon nanowires which better accommodated the large volume change during lithium-ion intercalation and de-intercalation.