Magnetostatic and Magnetoelastic Interactions in Glass-Coated Magnetostrictive Nanowires

Quantitative results on the magnetostatic and magnetoelastic contributions in amorphous glass-coated Fe_77.5Si_7.5B₁₅ nanowires with positive magnetostriction are reported. The effects of wire dimensions on both terms have been analyzed. Calculated results have been interpreted in correlation with experimental data obtained from hysteresis loop measurements. The detailed analysis points to a single domain magnetic structure with an axial easy axis of magnetization, in which the origin of the axial magnetic anisotropy is magnetoelastic in the inner, main part of the nanowires, and magnetostatic in the thin, near-surface region. The values of the switching field are predominantly given by the magnetoelastic contribution.