Surface magnetization processes in soft magnetic nanowires

The surface magnetization processes taking place in simple permalloy (Py) and FeGa nanowires, Py/Cu, CoFeB/Cu, CoNiP/Cu, FeGa/Py, and FeGa/CoFeB multilayered nanowires have been studied by magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) magnetometry. The results indicate a strong correlation between the direction of the anisotropy axis relative to the direction of the applied field and the plane of incidence of the laser spot, as well as the effect of dipolar interactions between the nanowires or between the ferromagnetic layers on the magnetization reversal. The larger laser spots are inducing more noise in the MOKE hysteresis loops because of the dimensional imperfections along the nanowires. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3360209]