Magnetic anisotropy in prismatic nickel nanowires

Nickel nanowire arrays with a diamond-shaped cross section and the same orientation have been fabricated in nanoporous single mica crystal membranes by electrodeposition. All wires are 5 mum long with an effective diameter of 120 nm. The sample can be considered as a collection of laterally and vertically aligned identical micromagnetic prisms. We report on the magnetic anisotropy due to the quasi-one-dimensional wire shape and diamond cross section. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.