Template-free generation and integration of functional 1D magnetic nanostructures

The direct integration of 1D magnetic nanostructures into electronic circuits is crucial for realizing their great potential as components in magnetic storage, logical devices, and spintronic applications. Here, we present a novel template-free technique for producing magnetic nanochains and nanowires using directed self-assembly of gas-phase-generated metallic nanoparticles. The 1D nanostructures can be self-assembled along most substrate surfaces and can be freely suspended over micrometer distances, allowing for direct incorporation into different device architectures. The latter is demonstrated by a one-step integration of nanochains onto a pre-patterned Si chip and the fabrication of devices exhibiting magnetoresistance. Moreover, fusing the nanochains into nanowires by post-annealing significantly enhances the magnetic properties, with a 35% increase in the coercivity. Using magnetometry, X-ray microscopy, and micromagnetic simulations, we demonstrate how variations in the orientation of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy and the presence of larger multi-domain particles along the nanochains play a key role in the domain formation and magnetization reversal. Furthermore, it is shown that the increased coercivity in the nanowires can be attributed to the formation of a uniform magnetocrystalline anisotropy along the wires and the onset of exchange interactions.