RESUMEN
A racetrack memory is a device where the information is stored as magnetic domains (bits) along a nanowire (track). To read and record the information, the bits are moved along the track by current pulses until they reach the reading/writing heads. In particular, 3D racetrack memory devices use arrays of vertically aligned wires (tracks), thus enhancing storage density. In this work, we propose a novel 3D racetrack memory configuration based on functional segments inside cylindrical nanowire arrays. The innovative idea is the integration of the writing element inside the racetrack itself, avoiding the need to implement external writing heads next to the track. The use of selective magnetic segments inside one nanowire allows the creation of writing and storage sections inside the same track, separated by chemical constraints identical to those separating the bits. Using micromagnetic simulations, our study reveals that if the writing section is composed of two segments with different coercivities, one can reverse its magnetization independently from the rest of the memory device by applying an external magnetic field. Spin-polarized current pulses then move the information bits along selected tracks, completing the writing process by pushing the new bit into the storage section of the wire. Finally, we have proven the efficacy of this system inside an array of 7 nanowires, opening the possibility to use this configuration in a 3D racetrack memory device composed of an array of thousands of nanowires produced by low-cost and high-yield template-electrodeposition methods.
RESUMEN
Controlling functional properties of matter and combining them for engineering a functional device is, nowadays, a common direction of the scientific community. For instance, heterogeneous magnetic nanostructures can make use of different types of geometrical and compositional modulations to achieve the control of the magnetization reversal along with the nano-entities and, thus, enable the fabrication of spintronic, magnetic data storage, and sensing devices, among others. In this work, diameter-modulated FeNi nanowires are fabricated paying special effort to obtain sharp transition regions between two segments of different diameters (from about 450 nm to 120 nm), enabling precise control over the magnetic behavior of the sample. Micromagnetic simulations performed on single bi-segmented nanowires predict a double step magnetization reversal where the wide segment magnetization switches near 16 kA/m through a vortex domain wall, while at 40 kA/m the magnetization of the narrow segment is reversed through a corkscrew-like mechanism. Finally, these results are confirmed with magneto-optic Kerr effect measurements at the transition of isolated bi-segmented nanowires. Furthermore, macroscopic vibrating sample magnetometry is used to demonstrate that the magnetic decoupling of nanowire segments is the main phenomenon occurring over the entire fabricated nanowires.
RESUMEN
Heterostructures consisting of semiconductors with controlled morphology and interfaces find applications in many fields. A range of axial, radial, and diameter-modulated nanostructures have been synthesized primarily using vapor phase methods. Here, we present a simple wet chemical routine to synthesize heterostructures of PbTe/Te using Te nanowires as templates. A morphology evolution study for the formation of these heterostructures has been performed. On the basis of these control experiments, a pathway for the formation of these nanostructures is proposed. Reduction of a Pb precursor to Pb on Te nanowire templates followed by interdiffusion of Pb/Te leads to the formation of a thin shell of PbTe on the Te wires. Controlled dewetting of the thin shell leads to the formation of cube-shaped PbTe that is periodically arranged on the Te wires. Using control experiments, we show that different reactions parameters like rate of addition of the reducing agent, concentration of Pb precursor and thickness of initial Te nanowire play a critical role in controlling the spacing between the PbTe cubes on the Te wires. Using simple surface energy arguments, we propose a mechanism for the formation of the hybrid. The principles presented are general and can be exploited for the synthesis of other nanoscale heterostructures.
RESUMEN
One-dimensional (1D) structures offer unique opportunities for materials synthesis since crystal phases and morphologies that are difficult or impossible to achieve in macroscopic crystals can be synthesized as 1D nanowires (NWs). Recently, we demonstrated one such phenomenon unique to growth on a 1D substrate, termed Plateau-Rayleigh (P-R) crystal growth, where periodic shells develop along a NW core to form diameter-modulated NW homostructures with tunable morphologies. Here we report a novel extension of the P-R crystal growth concept with the synthesis of heterostructures in which Ge (Si) is deposited on Si (Ge) 1D cores to generate complex NW morphologies in 1, 2, or 3D. Depositing Ge on 50 nm Si cores with a constant GeH4 pressure yields a single set of periodic shells, while sequential variation of GeH4 pressure can yield multimodulated 1D NWs with two distinct sets of shell periodicities. P-R crystal growth on 30 nm cores also produces 2D loop structures, where Ge (Si) shells lie primarily on the outside (inside) of a highly curved Si (Ge) core. Systematic investigation of shell morphology as a function of growth time indicates that Ge shells grow in length along positive curvature Si cores faster than along straight Si cores by an order of magnitude. Short Ge deposition times reveal that shells develop on opposite sides of 50 and 100 nm Si cores to form straight 1D morphologies but that shells develop on the same side of 20 nm cores to produce 2D loop and 3D spring structures. These results suggest that strain mediates the formation of 2 and 3D morphologies by altering the NW's surface chemistry and that surface diffusion of heteroatoms on flexible freestanding 1D substrates can facilitate this strain-mediated mechanism.