Thin-Film Heterostructures Based on Co/Ni Synthetic Antiferromagnets on Polymer Tapes: Toward Sustainable Flexible Spintronics.

Synthetic antiferromagnets with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA-SAFs) have gained growing attention for both conventional and next-generation spin-based technologies. While the progress of PMA-SAF spintronic devices on rigid substrates has been remarkable, only few examples of flexible thin-film heterostructures are reported in the literature, all containing platinum group metals (PGMs). Systems based on Co/Ni may offer additional advantages with respect to devices containing PGMs, i.

Disclosing the Nature of Asymmetric Interface Magnetism in Co/Pt Multilayers.

Nowadays, a wide number of applications based on magnetic materials rely on the properties arising at the interface between different layers in complex heterostructures engineered at the nanoscale. In ferromagnetic/heavy metal multilayers, such as the [Co/Pt] and [Co/Pd] systems, the magnetic proximity effect was demonstrated to be asymmetric, thus inducing a magnetic moment on the Pt (Pd) layer that is typically higher at the top Co/Pt(Pd) interface. In this work, advanced spectroscopic and imaging techniques were combined with theoretical approaches to clarify the origin of this asymmetry both in Co/Pt trilayers and, for the first time, in multilayer systems that are more relevant for practical applications.

Magnetism of Nanoparticles: Effect of the Organic Coating.

The design of novel multifunctional materials based on nanoparticles requires tuning of their magnetic properties, which are strongly dependent on the surface structure. The organic coating represents a unique tool to significantly modify the surface structure trough the bonds between the ligands of the organic molecule and the surface metal atoms. This work presents a critical overview of the effects of the organic coating on the magnetic properties of nanoparticles trough a selection of papers focused on different approaches to control the surface structure and the morphology of nanoparticles' assemblies.

Bioactive, nanostructured Si-substituted hydroxyapatite coatings on titanium prepared by pulsed laser deposition.

Aims: The aim of this work was to deposit silicon-substituted hydroxyapatite (Si-HAp) coatings on titanium for biomedical applications, since it is known that Si-HAp is able to promote osteoblastic cells activity, resulting in the enhanced bone ingrowth.

Materials And Methods: Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method was used for coatings preparation. For depositions, Si-HAp targets (1.

Size dependence of exchange bias in Co/CoO nanostructures.

In Co/CoO nanostructures, of dimensions l×3l, at small Co thickness (≈6,10 nm), a strong increase in the bias field and the associated coercive field are found as the nanostructure size is reduced from l=120 nm to l=30 nm. This property indicates that the characteristic length D(AF) within the antiferromagnet which governs exchange-bias effects is the nanostructure size. By contrast, at larger Co thickness (≈23 nm), the exchange-bias field does not depend on the nanostructure size, implying that D(AF) is smaller than the nanostructure size.

Physicochemical investigation of pulsed laser deposited carbonated hydroxyapatite films on titanium.

Carbonated hydroxyapatite (CHA)-coated titanium can find wide applications as bone substitute implant in bone and dental surgery and orthopedics, promoting osseointegration with a host bone and ensuring biocompatibility and bioactivity. In this work, carbonated hydroxyapatite films were prepared on titanium substrates by pulsed laser deposition at different substrate temperatures ranging from 30 to 750 degrees C. The properties of films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.