Program Highlights

Co and Ni Magnetic Nanocontacts

Magnetic nanocontacts have shown interesting and large magnetoresistance effects that might have potential in high-sensitivity sensors. We have prepared Co and Ni magnetic nanocontacts with focused-ion-beam and electrodeposition methods. The figure below shows the junction and the graph shows quantum conductance steps, indicating a Ni junction of dimensions less than 1 nanometer. The nanocontact has been modeled with a structure shown at the right. The electronic structure and conductance was calculated and the result showed that atomic size contacts can produce fully spin polarized currents as well as act as a valve that can be switched between conducting and non-conducting states. Further research may lead to significant applications.

B. Doudin, S.-H. Liou, S. S. Jaswal, and E. Y. Tsymbal