Emergence of giant magnetic anisotropy in freestanding Au/Co nanowires

The emergence of giant magnetic anisotropy was found in evenly mixed Au/Co nanowires. First principles molecular dynamics calculations revealed the large values of magnetic anisotropy energy of about similar to 130 meV per Co atom in Au/Co nanowires. It was established that the emergence of giant magnetic anisotropy is due to (d(xy), d(x)2) band splitting caused by the strong spin-orbit interaction between gold and cobalt atoms in the wire. It is also shown that the energy of the magnetic anisotropy depends strongly on the geometry and composition of the wire. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4738767]