Size Effects of the Magnetic Anisotropy of Fcc Cobalt Nanoparticles Embedded in Copper

Cobalt nanoparticles embedded in copper matrices show strong size effects in the magnetic anisotropy with a non-monotonous dependence on the particle diameter. In this article we discuss quantitative values of the magnetic anisotropy in the frame of two models: in small clusters the surface anisotropy contribution dominates whereas larger particles (>3 nm diameter) have an elliptic shape leading to increased shape anisotropy. The crystalline structure of the particles is shown to be face-centered cubic, justifying that the magneto-crystalline anisotropy can be neglected.