Micromagnetic Simulations of Fe and Ni Nanodot Arrays Surrounded by Magnetic or Non-Magnetic Matrices.

Combining clusters of magnetic materials with a matrix of other magnetic materials is very interesting for basic research because new, possibly technologically applicable magnetic properties or magnetization reversal processes may be found. Here we report on different arrays combining iron and nickel, for example, by surrounding circular nanodots of one material with a matrix of the other or by combining iron and nickel nanodots in air. Micromagnetic simulations were performed using the OOMMF (Object Oriented MicroMagnetic Framework). Our results show that magnetization reversal processes are strongly influenced by neighboring nanodots and the magnetic matrix by which the nanodots are surrounded, respectively, which becomes macroscopically visible by several steps along the slopes of the hysteresis loops. Such material combinations allow for preparing quaternary memory systems, and are thus highly relevant for applications in data storage and processing.