1 research outputs found
Magnetic properties of individual Co2FeGa Heusler nanoparticles studied at room temperature by a highly sensitive co-resonant cantilever sensor
The investigation of properties of nanoparticles is an important task to pave the way for progress
and new applications in many fields of research like biotechnology, medicine and magnetic storage
techniques. The study of nanoparticles with ever decreasing size is a challenge for commonly
employed methods and techniques. It requires increasingly complex measurement setups, often low
temperatures and a size reduction of the respective sensors to achieve the necessary sensitivity and
resolution. Here, we present results on how magnetic properties of individual nanoparticles can be
measured at room temperature and with a conventional scanning force microscopy setup combined
with a co-resonant cantilever magnetometry approach. We investigate individual Co2FeGa Heusler
nanoparticles with diameters of the order of 35 nm encapsulated in carbon nanotubes. We observed, for
the first time, magnetic switching of these nanoparticles in an external magnetic field by simple laser
deflection detection. Furthermore, we were able to deduce magnetic properties of these nanoparticles
which are in good agreement with previous results obtained with large nanoparticle ensembles in other
experiments. In order to do this, we expand the analytical description of the frequency shift signal in
cantilever magnetometry to a more general formulation, taking unaligned sensor oscillation directions
with respect to the magnetic field into account