Magnetic and Magnetoresistive Properties of Thin Films Patterned by Self-Assembling Polystyrene Nanospheres

Bi-Component Nanostructured Arrays of Co Dots Embedded in Ni80Fe20 Antidot Matrix: Synthesis by Self-Assembling of Polystyrene Nanospheres and Magnetic Properties

“…Two-dimensional bi-component nanostructured (BN) arrays, constituted by Co dots embedded in a Ni 80 Fe 20 antidot matrix (Co/Ni 80 Fe 20 ), are synthesized by the self-assembling of polystyrene nanospheres (PN). This technique offers a low-cost, fast approach to obtain a large area patterned systems in forms of dots or antidots arrays, at the expense of a reduced degree of order of the patterns with respect to conventional lithography techniques (e.g., optical, electron beam), which seldom significantly affects their magnetic properties [ 33 ]. The multi-step fabrication process is schematically illustrated in Figure 1 , and accompanied by the relevant scanning electron microscopy (SEM, FEI Inspect-F; the samples have been imaged as-is in high-vacuum using secondary electrons, without further preparation) images.…”