Assembly And Magnetic Properties Of Nickel Nanoparticles On Silicon Nanowires

The directed assembly of magnetic Ni nanoparticles at the tips of silicon nanowires is reported. Using electrodeposition Ni shells of thickness from 10 to 100 nm were selectively deposited on Au catalytic seeds at the ends of nanowires. Magnetic characterization confirms a low coercivity ((almost equal to)115 Oe) ferromagnetic behavior at 300 K. This approach to multifunctional magnetic-semiconducting nanostructure assembly could be extended to electrodeposition of other materials on the nanowire ends, opening up novel ways of device integration. Such magnetically functionalized nanowires offer a new approach to developing novel highly localized magnetic probes for high resolution magnetic resonance force microscopy.