Abstract
The thermal switching behavior of individual in-plane magnetized nanoislands is investigated by a combined study of variable-temperature spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy and Monte Carlo simulations. Even for islands consisting of less than 100 atoms the magnetization reversal takes place via nucleation and propagation. The Arrhenius prefactor is found to strongly depend on the individual island size and shape, and based on the experimental results a simple model is developed to describe the magnetization reversal in terms of metastable states. Complementary Monte Carlo simulations confirm the model and provide new insight into the microscopic processes involved in magnetization reversal of smallest nanomagnets.
- Received 7 July 2009
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.127202
©2009 American Physical Society
Viewpoint
Reversal of expectations
Published 14 September 2009
A microscopic study of magnetic nanoislands on a surface challenges the widely held view that all atoms in a relaxing nanoparticle flip their spins in unison.
See more in Physics