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Self-assembled single-crystal ferromagnetic iron nanowires formed by decomposition

Nature Materials volume 3, pages 533–538 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Arrays of perpendicular ferromagnetic nanowires have recently attracted considerable interest for their potential use in many areas of advanced nanotechnology. We report a simple approach to create self-assembled nanowires of α-Fe through the decomposition of a suitably chosen perovskite. We illustrate the principle behind this approach using the reaction 2La0.5Sr0.5FeO3 → LaSrFeO4 + Fe + O2 that occurs during the deposition of La0.5Sr0.5FeO3 under reducing conditions. This leads to the spontaneous formation of an array of single-crystalline α-Fe nanowires embedded in LaSrFeO4 matrix, which grow perpendicular to the substrate and span the entire film thickness. The diameter and spacing of the nanowires are controlled directly by deposition temperature. The nanowires show uniaxial anisotropy normal to the film plane and magnetization close to that of bulk α-Fe. The high magnetization and sizable coercivity of the nanowires make them desirable for high-density data storage and other magnetic-device applications.

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Figure 1: TEM results of self-assembled nanostructures in La0.5Sr0.5FeO3 thin films.
Figure 2: High-resolution cross-section images of a single α-Fe nanowire.
Figure 3: Room-temperature 57Co CEMS of the film deposited in vacuum.
Figure 4: Room-temperature magnetic properties of α-Fe nanowires.
Figure 5: High-resolution plan-view TEM images of α-Fe nanowires showing the shape and lateral size dependence of the nanowires to deposition temperature.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported partly by an ONR MURI grant No. N000140110761, NSF-MRSEC under grant No. DMR-00-80008, and also by the Center for Superconductivity Research at the University of Maryland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, 20742, Maryland, USA

    L. Mohaddes-Ardabili, H. Zheng, S. B. Ogale, J. Wang, T. Zhao, L. Salamanca-Riba, M. Wuttig & R. Ramesh

  2. Department of Physics, Center for Superconductivity Research, University of Maryland, College Park, 20742, Maryland, USA

    S. B. Ogale & S. R. Shinde

  3. Institut des Matériaux- LASTSM, Université de Rouen, BP 12, SER, 76801, France

    B. Hannoyer

  4. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 16802, Pennsylvania, USA

    W. Tian, Y. Jia & D. G. Schlom

  5. Department of Physics, Rowan University, Glassboro, 08028, New Jersey, USA

    S. E. Lofland

  6. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA

    R. Ramesh

  7. Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA

    R. Ramesh

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  1. L. Mohaddes-Ardabili
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Correspondence to R. Ramesh.

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Mohaddes-Ardabili, L., Zheng, H., Ogale, S. et al. Self-assembled single-crystal ferromagnetic iron nanowires formed by decomposition. Nature Mater 3, 533–538 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1162

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