D. Elefant

Synthesis and properties of filled carbon nanotubes

Abstract Single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes are very interesting nanoscaled materials with many possible applications in nanoelectronics. Especially, nanotubes filled with ferromagnetic materials (Fe, Co, Ni) may have significant potential in data storage. Such structures may help to exceed the best available storage densities (>65 Gb/inch2) and show in the case of Fe-filled nanotubes higher coercivities compared to bulk Fe. In addition, metal-filled carbon nanotubes are promising nanowires with excellent oxidation protection. In this paper we describe the synthesis of Fe-, Ni- and Co-filled carbon nanotubes by using the chemical vapor deposition method. Varying the deposition conditions we have obtained filled nanotubes with relatively uniform core diameters and different thicknesses of the carbon walls. The core diameters vary between 15 and 30 nm and the thickness of the carbon shells between 2 and 60 nm. The length of the tubes amounts up to 30 μm. The filled carbon nanotubes are characterised by scanning and transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The magnetic behaviour of the aligned Fe-filled tubes is investigated using alternating gradient magnetometry measurements and electron holography. The hysteresis loops indicate a magnetic anisotropy. The coercivity depends on the direction of the applied magnetic field. The observed enhanced coercivities are significantly higher than in bulk Fe.

Low temperature tunneling magnetoresistance on (La,Sr)MnO3∕Co junctions with organic spacer layers

This paper concerns with giant magnetoresistance (MR) effects in organic spin valves, which are realized as layered (La,Sr)MnO3 (LSMO)-based junctions with tris-(8, hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3)-spacer and ferromagnetic top layers. The experimental work was focused on the understanding of the transport behavior in this type of magnetic switching elements. The device preparation was carried out in an ultrahigh vacuum chamber equipped with a mask changer by evaporation and sputtering on SrTiO3 substrates with LSMO stripes deposited by pulsed laser technique. The field and temperature dependences of the MR of the prepared elements are studied. Spin-valve effects at 4.2K have been observed in a broad resistance interval from 50Ω to MΩ range, however, without systematic dependence on spacer layer thickness and device area. In some samples, the MR changes sign as a function of the bias voltage. The observed similarity in the bias voltages dependences of the MR in comparison with conventional magnetic tunnel...

Magnetic properties of aligned Fe-filled carbon nanotubes

We report on the magnetic properties of Fe-filled multiwalled carbon nanotubes(MWNTs) grown by chemical vapor deposition(CVD) on Si substrates with ferrocene as precursor. The MWNTs are aligned perpendicularly to the substrate plane. X-ray diffraction analyses indicate the presence of both bcc and fcc iron with a relatively strong texture. Magnetometry measurements show a pronounced magnetic anisotropy with the easy axis perpendicular to the substrate plane and parallel to the axis of the aligned MWNTs, respectively. The low-temperature behavior suggests a negligible coupling between the two iron phases. We accessed the magnetic properties of individual Fe-filled MWNTs by electron holography using a transmission electron microscope(TEM).

Extrinsic giant magnetoresistance in chromium (IV) oxide, CrO2

Polycrystalline CrO2 is shown to exhibit a giant magnetoresistance (GMR) at low temperatures. A rapid decrease in the GMR with increasing temperature is correlated with a decrease in the intergranular resistance. Single-crystal CrO2 is a half-metallic ferromagnet, as the data are interpreted to reflect two types of charge carriers, crossing a grain boundary: those that tunnel between conduction bands of adjacent grains and those that hop after residing at a localized state for a time long compared to a spin relaxation time.

Enhanced magnetism in Fe-filled carbon nanotubes produced by pyrolysis of ferrocene

By optimization of the synthesis of ferromagnetic-filled carbon nanotube ensembles on Si substrates (catalytic decomposition of ferrocene) and following annealing at 645°C, marked hysteresis loops can be measured by the alternating-gradient method. Unusually high coercivities and strong anisotropies with an easy magnetic axis parallel to the alignment of the nanotubes are observed from the as-grown samples, whereas an enhanced magnetic saturation moment (up to a factor of 2) and a decreased anisotropy are realized after annealing at 645°C. The increase of the magnetic saturation moment of the Fe-filled carbon nanotube ensembles is caused by the entire transformation within the tubes of the γ-Fe and Fe3C phases to ferromagnetic α-Fe and graphite. X-ray diffraction with different glancing incidence shows that the γ-Fe is predominantly at the tips of the nanotubes, while the iron carbide resides closer to the substrate. However, after the annealing process only α-Fe is found. At an annealing temperature of 6...

Annealing of Ni80Fe20/Cu and Co/Cu multilayers

Ni80Fe20/Cu and Co/Cu multilayers with Cu layer thicknesses corresponding to the first and second antiferromagnetic (afm) coupling maximum were prepared by dc-magnetron sputtering and investigated with respect to their annealing behavior. The as-deposited films showed giant magnetoresistance (GMR) up to 50% at room temperature. The annealing behavior of the multilayers belonging to the same Cu layer thickness is found to be very similar up to 200 °C. For both kind of multilayers with a Cu layer thickness of about 1 nm (first afm maximum) the GMR degrades upon annealing in excess of 140 °C. However, with a Cu layer thickness of about 2 nm (second afm maximum) the multilayers are stable with respect to their GMR properties even after prolonged exposure up to 200 °C. Moreover, in some cases even an improvement of GMR upon the annealing procedure may be found.

Synthesis and characteristics of Fe-filled multi-walled carbon nanotubes for biomedical application

Multifunctional nanocontainers can be produced based on partially filled Fe-multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Using thermal decomposition ferrocene filled nanotubes can be grown aligned on substrates. The encapsulated metal nanowires have diameters of 5-30 nm and a length up to few microns. They consist of single-crystalline of ? and ?-Fe- phases. Using heat treatment, it is possible to transform ?-Fe into ?-Fe. With the aid of wet chemical methods the nanotubes can be opened and additionally filled with an agent, e.g., therapeutic agents (carboplatin) or other metals (copper). Initial studies do not show a high toxicity over a period of 440 days. These materials can be used for drug delivery and hyperthermia. The specific absorption rate (SAR) is greater than 100W/(g-?-Fe) in a magnetic field of 18kA/m (f = 250kHz).

Synthesis and characterization of aligned Fe-filled carbon nanotubes on silicon substrates

We describe the preparation and the properties of Fe-filled multi-walled carbon nanotubes on Co-coated oxidized silicon substrates. The material was grown by pyrolysis of ferrocene, using a chemical vapor deposition process. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy studies indicate that the material consists of filled and aligned MWNTs. They have outer diameters of 40–100 nm and diameters of the metal core of 20–40 nm. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis of individual tubes reveals that their filling consists of pure Fe. Alternating gradient magnetometry investigations demonstrate the ferromagnetic behavior of the filled tubes. We observe unique magnetic properties differing from those of bulk Fe.

Stress development in sputtered NiO thin films during heat treatment

Nickel oxide thin films with a thickness of 100 nm were deposited on oxidized silicon wafers by rf magnetron sputtering from a NiO target in an Ar (nonreactive case) and an Ar+O2 atmosphere with various oxygen contents (reactive cases). The as-deposited films possess high compressive stresses (up to 3700 MPa) which decrease irreversibly during annealing between 150 and 500 °C. Compositional and microstructural analyses were performed on as-deposited and annealed films by means of electron probe microanalysis, transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermal-desorption spectrometry, and magnetization measurements. All as-deposited thin films consist of NiOx with x ranging between about 1.15 and 1.27. These oxygen-excess films are thermally unstable. They decompose during heat treatment into thermally more stable, oxygen-poorer NiO and/or metallic Ni. This decomposition is the reason for the observed irreversible stress changes.

Incremental analysis of the magnetization behavior in iron-filled carbon nanotube arrays

We show an efficient way to investigate the magnetic behavior of nanotube stubs based on the embedding of aligned iron-filled carbon nanotubes in silicon oxide using thermal chemical vapor deposition and gradual mechanical polishing afterwards. On the one hand, during the covering process the saturation magnetization moment rises due to the transformation of Fe3C into body-centered-cubic-Fe and graphite. On the other hand, the coercivity drops, mainly induced by changes in the shape of the nanowires. Further magnetization measurements of the embedded sample point to most of the ferromagnetic nanowires being located near the surface of the substrate. The coercivity increases when reducing the thickness of the nanotube array. The anomalous high coercivity of the Fe nanowires encapsulated by non magnetic carbon nanotubes make them suitable for high density data storage applications.