Contact and Magnetoresistance Measurement of a Single NiFe/Cu Multilayer Nanowire Within a Template Nanowire Array

A new method for the preparation of an electrical contact on a single nanowire from an array of nanowires using focused ion beam was successfully developed. The array of NiFe/Cu multilayered nanowires was obtained by electrodeposition from a plating solution containing metallic salts. Furthermore, polyethylene glycol (PEG) was added within the deposition bath, at a controlled pH of three, to improve the magnetotransport properties of the multilayered nanowires. It was found that, at room temperature, the coercive field, H_c, of the electrodeposited multilayered nanowires decreases when the additive is added into the electrolytic bath. Magnetoresistance (MR) measurements were performed on a single nanowire from the array; the MR value increases for the nanowires with a smaller diameter and when PEG is used.