Novel microwave properties and 'memory effect' in magnetic nanowire array

Ferromagnetic nanowire arrays embedded in insulating matrices have attracted great attention in recent years for their rich physics and potential as sensor and microwave applications. Magnetic nanowires made of 3d transitional metals or their alloys have the advantages of high saturation magnetizations, limited eddy current loss, and guaranteed microwave penetration due to nanometer size. The nanowire arrays can also have high ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) frequencies due to shape anisotropy. In this work, the following new phenomena of magnetic nanowire arrays are demonstrated and explained with a theoretical model. (1) A simple theoretical analysis indicates that high permeability is possible in nanowire arrays with the magnetocrystalline anisotropy comparable to the demagnetization energy and its easy axis perpendicular to the nanowire. With proper conditions, we have fabricated Co nanowire arrays with a crystalline easy axis perpendicular to the nanowire. For Co nanowire arrays with certain geometries, high permeability and low losses have been achieved. (2) Magnetic materials with tunable FMR are highly desirable in microwave devices. We demonstrate that the natural FMR of Ni90Fe10 nanowire array can be tuned continuously from 8.2 to 11.7 GHz by choosing different remanent state. Theoretical model based on dipolar interaction among nanowires has been developed to explain the observed phenomena. A double FMR feature caused by dipolar interaction in magnetic nanowire array was predicted and verified in Co nanowires. (3) A memory effect has also been demonstrated in magnetic nanowire arrays. The magnetic nanowire array has the ability to record the maximum magnetic field that the array has been exposed to after the field has been turned off. The origin of the memory effect is the strong magnetic dipole interaction among the nanowires. Based on the memory effect, a novel and extremely low cost EMP detection scheme is proposed. It has the potential to measure magnetic field pulses as high as a few hundred Oe without breaking down.;In the proposed EMP detector, a magnetic field sensor is required to measure the surface field of the magnetic nanowire array. MgO based magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) is one type of magnetic field sensors. We investigated the evolution of the magnetic transport properties as a function of short annealing time in MgO based MTJ junctions. It is found that the desired sensor behavior appears in samples annealed for 17 minutes. The result can be well fitted by using the superparamagnetism theory, suggesting the formation of superparamagnetic particles in the free layer during the high temperature annealing. The control of MTJ properties with annealing time is desirable in magnetic field sensor productions.