Analytical and numerical Ku−BK_u - B phase diagrams for cobalt nanostructures: stability region for a Bloch skyrmion

In this letter we calculate the energies corresponding to the different magnetic phases present in a ferromagnetic cylinder by means of analytical calculations. From the comparison of these energies, it is possible to construct magnetic phase diagrams as a function of the uniaxial anisotropy of the sample and the external magnetic field applied. As proof of concept, we analyzed the magnetic phase diagrams for a cobalt dot of 240 nm in diameter and 70 nm in length, with an easy axis parallel to the dot axis, and with a magnetic field applied towards or perpendicular to this axis. From these diagrams we have obtained the stability regions for a Bloch skyrmion (Sk), a vortex core (VC) and a ferromagnetic (F) configuration, which can point in any $\psi$ direction. Our results provide a pathway to engineer the formation and controllability of a skyrmion in a ferromagnetic dot to different anisotropy constants and magnetic fields.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

On the electric conductivity of highly ordered monolayers of monodisperse metal nanoparticles

Monolayers of colloidally synthesized cobalt-platinum nanoparticles of different diameters characterized by TEM (transmission electron microscopy) were deposited on structured silicon oxide substrates and characterized by SEM (scanning electron microscopy), GISAXS (grazing incidence x-ray scattering), and electric transport measurements. The highly ordered nanoparticle films show a thermally activated electron hopping between spatially adjacent particles at room temperature and Coulomb blockade at low temperatures. We present a novel approach to experimentally determine the particles charging energies giving values of 6.7-25.4 meV dependent on the particles size and independent of the interparticle distance. These observations are supported by FEM (finite element method) calculations showing the self-capacitance to be the determining value which only depends on the permittivity constant of the surrounding space and the particles radius.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Bionanomaterials from plant viruses

Plant virus capsids have emerged as useful biotemplates for material synthesis. All plant virus capsids are assembled with high-precision, three-dimensional structures providing nanoscale architectures that are highly monodisperse, can be produced in large quantities and that cannot replicate in mammalian cells (so are safe). Such exceptional characteristics make plant viruses strong candidates for application as biotemplates for novel and new material synthesis

Autoresonant control of the magnetization switching in single-domain nanoparticles

The ability to control the magnetization switching in nanoscale devices is a crucial step for the development of fast and reliable techniques to store and process information. Here we show that the switching dynamics can be controlled efficiently using a microwave field with slowly varying frequency (autoresonance). This technique allowed us to reduce the applied field by more than $30$ compared to competing approaches, with no need to fine-tune the field parameters. For a linear chain of nanoparticles the effect is even more dramatic, as the dipolar interactions tend to cancel out the effect of the temperature. Simultaneous switching of all the magnetic moments can thus be efficiently triggered on a nanosecond timescale