Growth and study of magnetic Heusler nanowires

• Grant number: 22/04496-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: July 01, 2022
• End date: April 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Condensed Matter Physics
• Principal Investigator: Kleber Roberto Pirota
• Grantee: Pablo Rafael Trajano Ribeiro
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin (IFGW). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 17/10581-1 - Emergent phenomena in reduced dimension systems, AP.ESP

Abstract

The main objectives of this project are the growth and study of a special class of Heusler nanowires (Co2FeY (Y = Al, Ga, Sn)), fabricated using the novel technique called metallic-flux nanonucleation (MFNN). Among the most interesting material from the magnetic point of view, the Heusler compounds present unique properties (spin current polarization for spintronics, shape memory effect, etc.) that involve several fundamental magnetic and structural phenomena whose critical length scale belongs to the nanometer scale. In particular, the ternary Co2FeY family exhibits half-metallicity, which yields to a high spin polarization possibility. However, high quality nanostructured half-metals are limited by the available fabrication techniques. In this context, the MFNN method will be used to produce a high density array of nanowires, parallel to each other, and where each nanowire is a monocrystal of the same texture than its neighbors. This technique combines the aluminum anodization from nanoporous alumina membrane and the metallic-flux method for intermetallic single crystal growth. A deep structural characterization, comparing the bulk and nanowires Heusler compounds, will be related to the half-metallicity character of both shapes. This project represents a good opportunity to access new physics hidden at nanometer size that is interesting from both technological and fundamental point of views in the spintronics area. (AU)