Magnetism of Fe, Co and Ni nanowires in self-assembled arrays

Recent work on magnetic properties of transition-metal nanowire arrays prod uced by electro-deposition is reviewed. The wires, which are electrodeposit ed into self-assembled porous anodic alumina, form nearly hexagonal arrays characterized by wire diameters down to less than 10 nm, wire lengths up to about 1 mum, and variable centre-to-centre spacings of the order of 50 nm. The fabrication and structural characterization of the arrays is summarize d, magnetic data are presented and theoretical explanations of the behaviou r of the wires are given. Emphasis is on extrinsic phenomena such as coerci vity, magnetization reversal and interactions of the magnetic nanowires. In particular, we analyse how wire imperfections give rise to magnetic locali zation and dominate the hysteresis behaviour of the wires. Potential applic ations are outlined in the last section.