Magnetic and electrical characterizations of half-metallic Fe ₃O₄ nanowires

A simple vapor-solid growth method was applied to grow Fe₂O ₃ nanowires (NW) in an oxygen-deficient environment. High quality and uniform Fe₃O₄ NWs were produced by converting Fe ₂O₃ template NWs in a reductive atmosphere. The microstructures of the nanowires show single-crystal features. The carrier-hopping mechanism was found to be frozen at a temperature close to 120 K. SQUID measurements indicated that the blocking temperature phenomenon was due to the electronic status of the NWs. A magnetic flux map was acquired by electron holography, which revealed the magnetic microstructure of the 1D magnetite nanowires. The magnetic flux density of the NWs was measured and described by using electron holography.