Nanoparticle Devices Aim of Global Project

The scientific objective of Nanospin (a European Union-funded project involving information that can be stored on nanoparticles) is to manufacturing and study the behavior of complex magnetic nanoparticles composed of a metallic core and one or more shells of ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic metals in order to control their magnetic properties (blocking temperature, anisotropy, exchange bias, spin quantum barrier height, etc.). These so-called nano-onions have far-ranging applications in medical nanotechnology, magnetic recording and quantum devices, the University of Leicester said in a statement.

Nanospin's technological objectives are to functionalize the nanoclusters to enable them to be produced as ordered arrays on surfaces and to demonstrate proof of principle in classical and quantum single-particle data storage, the university said.

It said the multiple-shell clusters will be produced by metal condensation in superfluid liquid helium (He) droplets. Large He droplets, formed by expansion of liquid helium into vacuum via a pinhole nozzle, are skimmed to form a collimated beam and pass through pickup cells where they acquire evaporated metal atoms. The atoms move through the droplet, coagulate to form clusters and cool to an ultralow temperature on a submicrosecond timescale. In contrast, the journey time between each pickup cell is milliseconds, so shell formation in one cell is complete before the droplet reaches the next cell. This will allow discrete shell structures to form sequentially.