Intermetallic Co2FeIn Heusler Alloy Nanowires for Spintronics Applications

Cylindrical Co2FeIn Heusler alloy nanowires are synthesized via template-assisted electrochemical deposition into the hexagonally self-ordered nanopores of hard-anodic alumina membranes. The electroplated nanowires, with 180 ± 20 nm in diameter and ∼14.5 μm in length, exhibit a polycrystalline nature, and they are homogeneous in composition. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction, and X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed a cubic A2 disordered phase of the ferromagnetic Heusler compound, with a lattice parameter of a = 5.764 ± 0.001 A. In addition, these structural characterizations reveal that the Co2FeIn nanowires display a polycrystalline structure with a pronounced {220} texture. The temperature-dependent magnetization behavior and anisotropy field distribution calculations display a dominant role of shape, magnetocrystalline, and magnetoelastic terms on the effective magnetic anisotropy of Co2FeIn alloyed nanowire arrays. Magneto-optical Kerr effect measur...