Broadband Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy for Studying Magneto-electronic Nanostructures

导电原子力显微镜是一种测量电阻纳米级变化的通用工具。该研究计划的目标是在广泛的频率范围内扩展其能力，以研究磁电子器件。计算机和智能手机包含高速运行的纳米级存储和逻辑设备，在对更小、更快和更节能的电子产品的竞争中，许多新型磁电子设备正在被探索。新的导电力显微镜工具将能够在纳米制造的不同阶段对原型设备进行快速测试，这将有助于优化工艺条件并加快开发周期。此外，这项技术将与磁热癌症治疗相关，该技术使用100 kHz-1 MHz范围内的激励进行磁控加热。这项研究的结果将与培训研究生和本科生的教育和推广活动有关，并通过本科生研究项目和IEEE磁学学会演示扫描探针显微镜的原理。拟议的研究计划将扩展导电原子力显微镜，以在广泛的频率范围内研究自旋电子器件中的热噪声和磁化动力学，并通过对纳米颗粒和纳米磁盘的测量来验证其操作。为了测试高频扫描探头的工作性能，并在纳米晶体水平上获得新的知识，将对几种类型的磁性纳米结构进行研究。晶体定向纳米粒子将被光刻成图案化，以研究导致超顺磁性行为的热涨落的尺寸相关性，并将孤立粒子行为应用于具有显著静磁相互作用的图案化纳米粒子组件。图案化的磁涡结构将在其共振频率(100-500 MHz)附近进行研究。在GHz范围内，焦点将集中在定向纳米颗粒的铁磁共振上。

Conductive atomic force microscopy is a versatile tool for measuring nanoscale variations in the electrical resistance. The goal of this research program is to extend its capabilities over a broad range of frequencies to study magneto-electronic devices. Computers and smart phones contain nanoscale storage and logic devices that operate at high speeds, and in a race for smaller, faster, and more energy efficient electronics, many novel magneto-electronic devices are being explored. The new conductive force microscopy tool will enable rapid testing of prototype devices at different stages of nanofabrication, which will assist in optimizing the processing conditions and speed up the development cycle. In addition, the relevancy of the technique will be for magnetic hyperthermia cancer treatment, which uses excitation in the 100 kHz - 1 MHz range, for magnetically controlled heating. The outcome of this research will be related to educational and outreach activities of training graduate and undergraduate students and by demonstrating the principles of scanning probe microscopy through undergraduate research projects and the IEEE Magnetics Society.The proposed research program will extend conductive atomic force microscopy to investigate thermal noise and magnetization dynamics in a spintronic devices at broad range of frequencies and by validating it operation through measurements on nanoparticles and nanodisks. Several kinds of magnetic nanostructures will be studied in order to test the operation of the high frequency scanning probe, and to gain new knoweldge at the nanosclae level. Crystallographically oriented nanoparticles will be patterned lithographically for investigation of the size-dependence of thermal fluctuations leading to superparamagnetic behavior, and isolated particles behavior applied to patterned nanoparticle assemblies with significant magnetostatic interactions. Patterned magnetic vortex structures will be investigated near their resonant frequencies (100-500 MHz). In the GHz range, the focus will be on ferromagnetic resonance of the oriented nanoparticles.