Marie-Claude Clochard

Imaging the Fine Structure of a Magnetic Domain Wall in a Ni Nanocylinder

We present the first experimental imaging of the internal DW structure in 55 and 85 nm diameter Ni nanocylinders, using electron holography combined with micromagnetic calculations. We demonstrate the magnetic transition from a hybrid magnetic state with both vortex and transverse DW in 85 nm diameter Ni nanocylinders to a pure transverse wall in thinner nanowires. This is particularly important as DWs in nanocylinders are model systems to go beyond the classical Walker limit.

Ionizing Radiation Effects in Polymers

Compared to other materials such as steels or ceramics, polymers are quite sensitive to radiations, from UV to gamma-rays, and to particles beams (electrons, ions). Ionizing radiations induce chemical modifications that can be detrimental but also beneficial from a technological point of view. Since the discovery of these potentialities, the number of studies has not ceased to increase, on the fundamental effects of ionizing radiations on polymers, and more particularly on their application to the design new materials.

Synthesis and magnetic reversal of bi-conical Ni nanostructures

Microstructure study of pinning sites of highly (0001) textured Sm(Co,Cu)5 thin films grown on Ru underlayer J. Appl. Phys. 111, 07B730 (2012) Spin-torque diode spectrum of ferromagnetically coupled (FeB/CoFe)/Ru/(CoFe/FeB) synthetic free layer J. Appl. Phys. 111, 07C917 (2012) Textured Nd2Fe14B flakes with enhanced coercivity J. Appl. Phys. 111, 07A735 (2012) Influence of Si Co-doping on electrical transport properties of magnesium-doped boron nanoswords Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 103112 (2012) Additional information on J. Appl. Phys. Journal Homepage: http://jap.aip.org/ Journal Information: Template synthesis in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) membranes has been used to grow hour glass shaped nickel nanowires with a constriction in the range of tens of nanometers at the center. Anisotropic magnetoresistance measurements have been performed on a single nanowire to follow magnetization reversal of the structure. The results are explained via 3D micromagnetic simulations showing the appearance of a complex vortex state close to the constriction whose propagation depends on the angle between the cone axis and the applied field.

Ion-shaping of embedded gold hollow nanoshells into vertically aligned prolate morphologies.

Ion beam shaping is a novel technique with which one can shape nano-structures that are embedded in a matrix, while simultaneously imposing their orientation in space. In this work, we demonstrate that the ion-shaping technique can be implemented successfully to engineer the morphology of hollow metallic spherical particles embedded within a silica matrix. The outer diameter of these particles ranges between 20 and 60 nm and their shell thickness between 3 and 14 nm. Samples have been irradiated with 74 MeV Kr ions at room temperature and for increasing fluences up to 3.8 × 1014 cm−2. In parallel, the experimental results have been theoretically simulated by using a three-dimensional code based on the thermal-spike model. These calculations show that the particles undergo a partial melting during the ion impact, and that the amount of molten phase is maximal when the impact is off-center, hitting only one hemisphere of the hollow nano-particle. We suggest a deformation scenario which differs from the one that is generally proposed for solid nano-particles. Finally, these functional materials can be seen as building blocks for the fabrication of nanodevices with really three-dimensional architecture.

The concept of entropic rectifier facing experiments

The transport of molecules in confined media is subject to entropic barriers. So theoretically, asymmetry of the confinement length may lead to molecular ratchets with entropy as the only driving force for the biased transport. We address experimentally this question by performing alternative ionic current measurements on electrolytes confined in neutral conical nanopores. In case anions and cations widely differ in size, we show that rectification of ionic current can be obtained that depends on ions size and cycle frequency, consistently with the entropic ratchet mechanism.

Ion-shaping of embedded gold hollow nanoshells into vertically aligned prolate morphologies

Ion beam shaping is a novel technique with which one can shape nano-structures that are embedded in a matrix, while simultaneously imposing their orientation in space. In this work, we demonstrate that the ion-shaping technique can be implemented successfully to engineer the morphology of hollow metallic spherical particles embedded within a silica matrix. The outer diameter of these particles ranges between 20 and 60 nm and their shell thickness between 3 and 14 nm. Samples have been irradiated with 74 MeV Kr ions at room temperature and for increasing fluences up to 3.8 × 1014 cm−2. In parallel, the experimental results have been theoretically simulated by using a three-dimensional code based on the thermal-spike model. These calculations show that the particles undergo a partial melting during the ion impact, and that the amount of molten phase is maximal when the impact is off-center, hitting only one hemisphere of the hollow nano-particle. We suggest a deformation scenario which differs from the one that is generally proposed for solid nano-particles. Finally, these functional materials can be seen as building blocks for the fabrication of nanodevices with really three-dimensional architecture.

Orientation effect on the giant stress field induced in a single Ni nanowire by mechanical strain

The change of magnetization (i.e. using the inverse magnetostriction effect) allows to investigate at the nanoscale the effects of thermoelastic and piezoelectric strain of an active track-etched β-PVDF polymer matrix on an electrodeposited single-contacted Ni nanowire (NW). The magnetization state is measured locally by anisotropic magnetoresitance (AMR). The ferromagnetic NW plays thus the role of a mechanical probe that allows the effects of mechanical strain to be characterized and described qualitatively and quantitatively. Due to the inverse magnetostriction, a quasi-disappearance of the AMR signal for a variation of the order of ΔT ≈ 10 K has been evidenced. The coplanarity of the vectors between the magnetization and the magnetic field is broken. A way of studying the effect of the geometry on such a system, is to fabricate oriented polymer templates. Track-etched polymer membranes were thus irradiated at various angles (αirrad) leading, after electrodeposition, to embedded Ni NWs of different orientations. With cylindrical Ni NW oriented normally to the template surface, the induced stress field in a single Ni NW was found 1000 time higher than the bulk stress field (due to thermal expansion measured on the PVDF). This amplification results in three nanoscopic effects: (1) a stress mismatch between the Ni NW and the membrane, (2) a non-negligible role of the surface tension on Ni NW Young modulus, and (3) the possibility of non-linear stress-strain law. When the Ni NWs are tilted from the polymer template surface normality, the induced stress field is reduced and the amplification phenomenon is less important.