Magnetic force microscopy of ferromagnetic nanoparticles formed in Al2O3 and SiO2 by ion implantation

Abstract

Magnetic force microscopy ͑MFM͒ has been used to investigate the properties of ferromagnetic FePt nanoparticles produced by the implantation of Fe and Pt ions into single-crystal Al 2 O 3 or fused SiO 2 followed by thermal processing. The MFM results are compared to cross-section and plan view transmission electron microscopy images of the same samples. We demonstrate that MFM can detect magnetism in nanosized particles that are situated several hundred nm below the sample surface. MFM is shown to be a promising tool for studying the characteristics of magnetic nanoparticles produced by ion implantation.

Magnetic force microscopy on cobalt nanocluster films

“…It can be suppressed by keeping the lift height large enough during the MFM scan [10,11]. This is in agreement with our findings, where a lift height >17 nm (tip-sample distance $40 nm) was sufficient to almost eliminate topographic interference.…”

“…Experimentally, MFM measurements on single superparamagnetic particles suffer from a commonly observed topographic contamination of magnetic field data [9,10]. It can be suppressed by keeping the lift height large enough during the MFM scan [10,11].…”

Magnetic versus structural properties of Co nanocluster thin films: A magnetic force microscopy study

“…15 Moreover, van der Waals forces only become significant for tip-sample distances Ͻ10 nm, 8 which is below the values used here. The MFM measurements on single particles suffer from the topographic contamination of magnetic field data [15][16][17] which can be alleviated by using large enough lift heights (Ͼ17 nm; tip-sample distanceϭlift heightϩoscillating am-plitude͒. The topographic interference is possibly caused by air damping of the cantilever oscillation.…”

Evolution of coercivity and its angular dependence in CoFe nanostructures subjected to field cooling

“…Post deposition treatments in nanoscale magnetic structures has been a topic of great interest because of its applications in the development of high density data storage devices and for the fundamental understanding of magnetism. A number of studies on micron and nanometer‐sized dots, holes (or antidot), and wire structures have been carried out in the past . A detailed understanding of the magnetization reorientation processes in small ferromagnetic elements is significant in the design of storage media, miniature read heads, and other magneto‐electronic devices.…”