Multiprobe magnetoresistance measurements on isolated magnetic nanowires

We present magnetotransport measurements on single cobalt nanowires fabricated by electrodeposition into nanoporous membranes and contacted by an electron beam lithography technique. Isolated nanowires (up to 20 mum long) are extracted from the nanoporous template and spread over a silicon substrate. Electron-beam lithography allows us to make nanosized multiprobe connections on isolated wires and perform measurements on parts of the nanowire as small as 500 nm. Measurements of different segments of a single 60 nm Co nanowire show the inhomogeneity of magnetization reversal processes along the same wire. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.