Fabrication of novel magnetic nanostructures by colloidal bimetallic nanocrystals and multilayers

Recent developments of lithographic techniques as well as improved chemical synthesis methods allow researchers to engineer novel nanostructured materials consisting of arrays of self-organized nanocrystals and multilayers grown as patterns on different substrates. In our case, the magnetic nanostructures consist either of multilayers directly deposited on pre-patterned substrates to form regular arrays of stripes and grooves or colloidal solutions of self-organized bimetallic Ag/Co nanoparticles on patterned and nonpatterned substrates. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were employed in order to study the surface morphology of the 2D patterning arrays and the 3D nanostructures. The development of periodic arrays of magnetic patterns of micrometer size is strongly dependent on technological parameters such as: film thickness, distances, size and shape of the patterns. Moreover, it is shown that the substrate morphology significantly affects the colloidal crystallization of magnetic nanoparticles and leads to different growth modes. This will ultimately affect the overall magnetic behavior of the nanostructures. Consequently, the combination of self-assembly and patterning allows for the controlled fabrication of the novel magnetic nanostructures at a macroscopic level and the study of fundamental aspects in magnetism such as quantum tunneling magnetization and magneto-transport properties along well-defined nanosized patterns.