Quantum growth of magnetic nanoplatelets of Co on Si with high blocking temperature

Magnetic Binary Silicide Nanostructures

In spite of numerous advantageous properties of silicides, magnetic properties are not among them. Here, the magnetic properties of epitaxial binary silicide nanostructures are discussed. The vast majority of binary transition-metal silicides lack ferromagnetic order in their bulk-size crystals. Silicides based on rare-earth metals are usually weak ferromagnets or antiferromagnets, yet both groups tend to exhibit increased magnetic ordering in low-dimensional nanostructures, in particular at low temperatures. The origin of this surprising phenomenon lies in undercoordinated atoms at the nanostructure extremities, such as 2D (surfaces/interfaces), 1D (edges), and 0D (corners) boundaries. Uncompensated superspins of edge atoms increase the nanostructure magnetic shape anisotropy to the extent where it prevails over its magnetocrystalline counterpart, thus providing a plausible route toward the design of a magnetic response from nanostructure arrays in Si-based devices, such as bit-patterned magnetic recording media and spin injectors.

Self-assembled shape- and orientation-controlled synthesis of nanoscale Cu3Si triangles, squares, and wires

Controlling shape and orientation is important for the synthesis of functional nanomaterials. In this work, nanoscale Cu3Si triangles, squares, and wires have been grown on Si(111), (100), and (110) substrates, respectively, through a template-free Au-nanoparticle-assisted vapor transport method. The sides of nanotriangles and nanosquares and the growth direction of the nanowires are all along Si <110>, giving rise to long-range ordering of the nanostructures. Au nanoparticles absorb Cu vapor and facilitate the rate-limited diffusion of Si, which is critical for the shape-controlled growth of Cu3Si. This bottom-up approach to synthesize shape- and orientation-controlled Cu3Si nanostructures might be applicable to the tailored growth of other materials.

Theoretical limit in the magnetization reversal of stoner particles

Magnetization reversal of uniaxial Stoner particles under the Slonczewski spin-transfer torques of polarized electric currents is investigated. Based on the modified Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation of magnetization dynamics, the theoretical limit of critical currents required to reverse a magnetization with an arbitrary polarized current is obtained. Under a constant polarization degree and constant current amplitude, the optimal current pulse for the fastest magnetization reversal is derived. These results can be used as benchmarks to evaluate different reversal strategies besides other possible usages.

Theoretical limit of the minimal magnetization switching field and the optimal field pulse for Stoner particles

The theoretical limit of the minimal magnetization switching field and the optimal field pulse design for uniaxial Stoner particles are investigated. Two results are obtained. One is the existence of a theoretical limit of the smallest magnetic field out of all possible designs. It is shown that the limit is proportional to the damping constant in the weak damping regime and approaches the Stoner-Wohlfarth (SW) limit at large damping. For a realistic damping constant, this limit is more than 10 times smaller than that of so-called precessional magnetization reversal under a noncollinear static field. The other is on the optimal field pulse design: if the magnitude of a magnetic field does not change, but its direction can vary during a reversal process, there is an optimal design that gives the shortest switching time. The switching time depends on the field magnitude, damping constant, and magnetic anisotropy.