We have developed a new reliable method combining template synthesis and nanolithography-based contacting technique to elaborate current perpendicular-to-plane giant magnetoresistance spin valve nanowires, which are very promising for the exploration of electrical spin transfer phenomena. The method allows the electrical connection of one single nanowire in a large assembly of wires embedded in anodic porous alumina supported on Si substrate with diameters and periodicities to be controllable to a large extent. Both magnetic excitations and switching phenomena driven by a spin-polarized current were clearly demonstrated in our electrodeposited NiFe/Cu/ NiFe trilayer nanowires. This novel approach promises to be of strong interest for subsequent fabrication of phase-locked arrays of spin transfer nano-oscillators with increased output power for microwave applications.

A versatile fabrication approach for the realization of complex vertical nanowire architectures on top of photolithographically patterned microscale metallic electrodes is presented (see image). Anodic aluminum oxidation combined with microfabrication and nanopatterning techniques enable site‐specific electrochemical growth of nanowires inside supported nanoporous alumina templates.

A highly sensitive pH capacitive sensor has been designed by confined growth of vertically aligned nanowire arrays on interdigited microelectrodes. The active surface of the device has been functionalized with an electrochemical pH transducer (polyaniline). We easily tune the device features by combining lithographic techniques with electrochemical synthesis. The reported electrical LC resonance measurements show considerable sensitivity enhancement compared to conventional capacitive pH sensors realized with microfabricated interdigited electrodes. The sensitivity can be easily improved by changing only the thickness of the functional layer.

Crystalline anisotropic magnetoresistance with two-fold and eight-fold symmetry in (In,Fe)As ferromagnetic semiconductor Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 262409 (2012) Charge order suppression, emergence of ferromagnetism and absence of exchange bias effect in Bi0.25Ca0.75MnO3 nanoparticles: Electron paramagnetic resonance and magnetization studies J. Appl. Phys. 111, 123913 (2012) Vacancy mediated room temperature ferromagnetism in Co-doped Dy2O3 Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 252411 (2012) Synthesis and characterization of Co2FeAl nanowires J. Appl. Phys. 111, 123906 (2012) Synthesis, structure, and magnetic behavior of nanoparticles of cubic ZnMnO3

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The paper reports for the first time an innovative polyaniline (PANI)/platinum (Pt)-coated fiber optic-surface plasmon resonance (FO-SPR) sensor used for highly-sensitive 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) pollutant detection. The Pt thin film was coated over an unclad core of an optical fiber (FO) using a DC magnetron sputtering technique, while the 4-NP responsive PANI layer was synthetized using a cost-effective electroless polymerization method. The presence of the electrolessly-grown PANI on the Pt-coated FO was observed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy and subsequently evidenced by energy dispersive X-ray analysis. These FO-SPR sensors with a demonstrated bulk sensitivity of 1515 nm/RIU were then employed for 4-NP sensing, exhibiting an excellent limit-of-detection (LOD) in the low picomolar range (0.34 pM). The proposed sensor’s configuration has many other advantages, such as low-cost production, small size, immunity to electromagnetic interferences, remote sensing capability, and moreover, can be operated as a “stand-alone device”, making it thus well-suited for applications such as “on-site” screening of extremely low-level trace pollutants.