Two-photon Lithography for 3D Magnetic Nanostructure Fabrication

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method combining two-photon lithography and electrochemical deposition to fabricate complex 3D magnetic nanostructures, enabling advanced magnetic device architectures and domain wall control.

Contribution

It presents a new fabrication approach for complex 3D magnetic nanostructures using two-photon lithography combined with electrochemical deposition.

Findings

Magnetic properties depend on 3D geometry.

Domain wall pinning observed at nanostructured junctions.

Method enables complex 3D magnetic nanostructure fabrication.

Abstract

Ferromagnetic materials have been utilised as recording media within data storage devices for many decades. Confinement of the material to a two dimensional plane is a significant bottleneck in achieving ultra-high recording densities and this has led to the proposition of three dimensional (3D) racetrack memories that utilise domain wall propagation along nanowires. However, the fabrication of 3D magnetic nanostructures of complex geometry is highly challenging and not easily achievable with standard lithography techniques. Here, by using a combination of two-photon lithography and electrochemical deposition, we show a new approach to construct 3D magnetic nanostructures of complex geometry. The magnetic properties are found to be intimately related to the 3D geometry of the structure and magnetic imaging experiments provide evidence of domain wall pinning at a 3D nanostructured junction.