Geometrical control of the magnetization direction in high aspect-ratio PdNi ferromagnetic nano-electrodes

TL;DR

This study investigates how the geometry of high aspect-ratio PdNi ferromagnetic nano-electrodes influences their magnetization direction, revealing a transition from in-plane to out-of-plane magnetization as electrode width decreases.

Contribution

It demonstrates the geometrical control of magnetization orientation in PdNi nano-electrodes, a novel approach for tuning magnetic properties at the nanoscale.

Findings

Magnetization switches from in-plane to out-of-plane below 3 micron width.

Out-of-plane magnetization reaches 58 degrees in 100 nm-wide electrodes.

Magnetization direction depends strongly on electrode lateral dimensions.

Abstract

We present a study of electron-beam evaporated Pd0.4Ni0.6 alloy thin films by means of ferromagnetic resonance measurements on extended films of varying thickness and anisotropic magnetoresistance measurements of lithographically patterned high aspect-ratio ferromagnetic electrodes, respectively. The results reveal that the direction of the magnetization strongly depends on the electrode lateral dimensions, transitioning from in-plane magnetization for extended films to out-of-the-plane magnetization for electrode widths below 2-3 microns, reaching 58 degrees off-plane for 100 nm-wide nanoelectrodes.