Magnetic layer thickness dependence of magnetization reversal in electrodeposited CoNi/Cu multilayer nanowires

The magnetization reversal of electrodeposited CoNi/Cu multilayer nanowires patterned in an array using a hole template has been investigated. The reversal mode is found to depend on the CoNi layer thickness t(CoNi); with increasing t(CoNi) a transition occurs from coherent rotation to a combination of coherent and incoherent rotation at around t(CoNi)=51 nm. The reversal mode has been identified using the magnetic hysteresis loops measured at room temperature for CoNi/Cu nanowires placed at various angles between the directions of the nanowire axis and external fields using a vibrating sample magnetometer. The nanowire samples have a diameter of ∼250 nm and constant Cu layer thickness of 4.2 nm with various t(CoNi) ranging from 6.8 nm to 7.5 μm. With increasing t(CoNi), the magnetic easy axis moves from the direction perpendicular to nanowires to that parallel to the nanowires at around t(CoNi)=51 nm, indicating a change in the magnetization reversal mode. The reversal mode for the nanowires with thin disk-shaped CoNi layers (t(CoNi)=6.8, 12 and 17 nm) is of a coherent rotation type, while that for long rod-shaped CoNi layers (t(CoNi)=150 nm, 1.0, 2.5 and 7.5 μm) can be consistently explained by a combination of coherent rotation and a curling mode. The effects of dipole–dipole interactions between nanowires and between adjacent magnetic layers in each nanowire on the reversal process have been discussed.