2D and 3D ordered arrays of Co magnetic nanowires

Abstract Cobalt nanowire arrays spatially distributed in 2D and 3D arrangements have been performed by pulsed electrodeposition into the pores of planar and cylindrical nanoporous anodic alumina membranes, respectively. Morphological characterization points out the good filling factor reached by electroplated Co nanowires in both kinds of alumina membranes exhibiting hexagonally self-ordered porous structures. Co nanowires grown in both kinds of alumina templates exhibit the same crystalline phases. DC magnetometry and First Order Reversal Curve (FORC) analysis were carried out in order to determine the overall magnetic behavior for both nanowire array geometries. It is found that when the Co nanowires of two kinds of arrays are perpendicularly magnetized, both hysteresis loops are identical, suggesting that neither the intrinsic magnetic behavior of the nanowires nor the collective one depend on the arrays geometry. FORC analysis performed along the radial direction of the Co nanowire arrays embedded in the cylindrical alumina template reveals that the contribution of each nanowire to the magnetization reversal process involves its specific orientation with respect to the applied field direction. Furthermore, the comparison between the magnetic properties for both kinds of Co nanowire arrays allows discussing about the effect of the cylindrical geometry of the template on the magnetostatic interaction among nanowires.