Letter abstract


Nature Nanotechnology 3, 22 - 25 (2008)
Published online: 23 December 2007 | doi:10.1038/nnano.2007.419

Subject Categories: Computational nanotechnology | Nanomagnetism and spintronics

Colossal magnetic anisotropy of monatomic free and deposited platinum nanowires

A. Smogunov1,2,3, A. Dal Corso2,4, A. Delin5, R. Weht6 & E. Tosatti1,2,4


Whenever a nanosystem such as an adatom, a cluster or a nanowire spontaneously magnetizes, a crucial parameter is its magnetic anisotropy, the intrinsic preference of magnetization to lie along an easy axis1. Anisotropy is important in nanosystems because it helps reduce the magnitude of thermal (superparamagnetic) fluctuations, it can modify the flow of current, and it can induce new phenomena, such as the quantum tunnelling of magnetization2. We discuss here, on the basis of density functional calculations, the novel and unconventional feature of colossal magnetic anisotropy—the strict impossibility of magnetization to rotate from the parallel to the orthogonal direction—which, owing to a quantum mechanical selection rule, the recently predicted Pt nanowire magnetism should exhibit. Model calculations suggest that the colossal magnetic anisotropy of a Pt chain should persist after weak adsorption on an inert substrate or surface step.

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  1. International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Strada Costiera 11, I-34014 Trieste, Italy
  2. INFM Democritos National Simulation Center, Via Beirut 2-4, I-34014 Trieste, Italy
  3. Voronezh State University, University Square 1, Voronezh, Russia
  4. International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Via Beirut 2-4, I-34014 Trieste, Italy
  5. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Brinellvägen 23, KTH, SE-10044 Stockholm, Sweden
  6. Departamento de Física, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Avenida General Paz y Constituyentes, 1650 San Martín, Argentina

Correspondence to: E. Tosatti1,2,4 e-mail: Tosatti@sissa.it



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