Microwave studies of magnetic anisotropy of Co nanowire arrays

The effect of magnetocrystalline anisotropy and dipolar interactions in Co nanowire arrays is studied by ferromagnetic resonance (FMR). Microwave measurements performed by the microstripline method are reported for two series of crystalline hcp Co (with the c axis nominally perpendicular [Co(c perpendicular to)] and parallel to the wires [Co(c parallel to)]) and an amorphous alloy with Co as the main component-Co94Fe5B1. Extrapolation of the high field linear part of the resonance curve (frequency versus dc field) permitted an evaluation of the effective anisotropy fields for saturated samples, as well as of the intrinsic fields H-K, showing that the great differences between the three series are due to the magnetocrystalline anisotropy. The H-K values for the two series of Co are discussed in terms of a model which accounts for the effect of the distributions of the c axis orientation in systems of uniaxial ferromagnets. The observed dependence of the effective anisotropy fields on the array geometry (wire length and diameter) is interpreted in terms of the interwire dipolar interactions and found to be in agreement with theoretical predictions based on a micromagnetic model. The fact that the resonance frequencies at H-dc=0 are geometry dependent shows that magnetostatic interactions are still significant at remanence. A second series of FMR experiments was performed at constant frequency (38 GHz), with the purpose of obtaining the angle dependence of the resonance field. These experiments provided an alternative method for the evaluation of the effective anisotropy field. The angle dependence of the resonance field for Co(c perpendicular to) fitted the simplest equation for magnets with uniaxial anisotropy, obtained considering only the first order term in the expression of the magnetocrystalline energy as a function of the magnetization orientation. The same is not true for Co(c parallel to), which required inclusion of a second order term.