Enhanced Magnetic Anisotropy Energy of Fe/Pt Nanowires in Presence of Finite Electric Field

Density functional theory based calculations are performed to explore the role of non-magnetic Platinum spacer in modulating the magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) of Fe/Pt multilayered nanowire system. It is found that both the magnetic moment and anisotropy energy of Fe nanowire can be modulated by introducing Pt spacer in between Fe layers. The MAE can further be tuned with wire diameter, spacer concentration and by applying a finite electric field. We find that for a suitably designed 0.4 nanometer (nm) Fe wire with the easy axis along the wire axis, the MAE can be substantially increased by introducing a few layers of Pt spacer. By increasing the Fe nanowire diameter from 0.4 nm to 0.9 nm, the easy axis turns out to be perpendicular to the wire axis with a decreased value of MAE. For the 0.9 nm nanowire, the Pt spacer plays a significant role by flipping the easy axis parallel to the wire axis and giving an ample value of MAE. By applying a range of finite electric field perpendicular to the Fe/Pt multilayered wire axis, we find a small change in MAE for 0.4 nm wire, while a significant change in the magnetic properties is observed for the 0.9 nm diameter nanowire. substantially enhanced.