Oleg Petracic
Forschungszentrum Jülich

Abstract

Structural and magnetic correlations of self-assembled nanoparticle superlattices

Nanoparticle superlattices can be considered as novel type of materials with controllable electronic, optical and magnetic properties. Their building blocks are nanoparticles (or 'nanocrystals') from a metallic, metal-oxide, or semiconducting material or hybrid between different materials. I will report about the structural and magnetic properties of 2- or 3-dimensional 'superlattices' of magnetic nanoparticles. Depending on the substrate and the self-assembly technique we can fabricate either 'superlattice films' showing various growth modes as known from classical thin films or 3d mesocrystals. The lateral ordering is quantified using electron microscopy and grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS). The magnetic behavior and correlations are investigated by magnetometry, polarized neutron reflectometry (PNR) and grazing incidence small-angle neutron scattering (GISANS).