Magnetization hysteresis loops of a three-dimensional nanoscale analog of spin ice based on the nickel inverse opal-like structure (IOLS) have been studied at room temperature. The samples are produced by filling nickel into the voids of artificial opal-like films. The spin ice behavior is induced by tetrahedral elements within the IOLS, which have the same arrangement of magnetic moments as a spin ice. The thickness of the films vary from a two-dimensional, i.e., single-layered, antidot array to a three-dimensional, i.e., multilayered, structure. The coercive force, the saturation, and the irreversibility field have been measured in dependence of the thickness of the IOLS for in-plane and out-of-plane applied fields. The irreversibility and saturation fields change abruptly from the antidot array to the three-dimensional IOLS and remain constant upon further increase of the number of layers n. The coercive force Hc seems to increase logarithmically with increasing n as Hc=Hc0+αln(n+1). The logarithmic law implies the avalanchelike remagnetization of anisotropic structural elements connecting tetrahedral and cubic nodes in the IOLS. We conclude that the "ice rule" is the base of mechanism regulating this process.

Original languageEnglish
Article number064424
Number of pages8
JournalPhysical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Volume94
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 23 Aug 2016

    Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics

ID: 7580712