Magnetization Reversal in Cobalt Nanocolumn Structures Obtained by Glancing Angle Deposition

K. Buchtaa, Ch. Schmidtb, G. Trykowskic, S. Biniakc, M. Kempińskid and T. Lucińskia aInstitute of Molecular Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, M. Smoluchowskiego 17, 60-179 Poznań, Poland bUniversity Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, 34132 Kassel, Germany cNicolaus Copernicus University, J. Gagarina 11, 87-100 Toruń, Poland dAdam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 85, 61-614 Poznań, Poland

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An advanced deposition technique known as glancing angle deposition was used to fabricate randomly seeded magnetic cobalt columnar nanostructures. The existence of nanocolumns was confirmed by the cross-section scanning electron microscopy. The evolution in the magnetization reversal mechanism as a function of the film thickness was investigated. The coercivity HC and MR/MS ratio (where MR and MS denote the remanent and saturation magnetization, respectively), derived from the magnetic hysteresis loops, are discussed as a function of the angle between the external magnetic field and the surface normal. The direction of the magnetization easy/hard axis and the columns inclination angle were determined on the basis of the angular dependences of the HC and the MR/MS. A crossover from the coherent rotation, based on the Stoner-Wohlfarth model, to the curling reversal mode was observed.

DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.121.1222 PACS numbers: 75.70.Ak, 73.50.-h, 73.61.-r