In situ fabrication of single-crystal Fe nanomagnet arrays

Abstract

We produced single-crystalline Fe nanodot arrays grown in situ on a W(110) substrate in an ultrahigh vacuum system. An alumina shadow mask with perfectly ordered holes was used for Fe deposition. Polycrystalline Fe nanodots could be crystallized to single-domain nanodots by thermal annealing. After annealing, Fe wets tungsten substrate with one monolayer, but Fe islands neither coalesce nor form an alloy with the substrate. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.