An Investigation of Nickel Cobalt Oxide Nanorings Using Transmission Electron, Scanning Electron and Helium Ion Microscopy

Nickel cobalt oxide alloy nanorings have been synthesized using a wet chemistry method. Standard characterization techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have been used to characterize the nanorings. We, however, also examined the nanostructures in the helium ion microscope (HIM) and employed backscattered ion spectroscopy to determine thickness and composition of the nanostructure. The HIM provides complementary information of the nanostructures and the viability of using it as a tool for magnetic nanoparticle characterization was demonstrated by comparing the results from all three microscopes.