Bloch point nanospheres for the design of magnetic traps

Abstract

Through micromagnetic simulations, this work analyzes the possibility of using an array of magnetic nanospheres hosting Bloch points (BPs) to compose a system with the features of a magnetic trap (MT). We show that a BP can be nucleated as a metastable configuration in a wide range of the nanosphere radius compared to a quasi-uniform and vortex state. We also show that the stabilized BP generates a quadrupolar magnetic field outside the nanosphere. Based on this fact, we analyze the field profile of different arrays of these nanospheres, showing that the obtained magnetic field profiles share the needed features to compose MTs. Some highlights of using an array of Bloch point nanospheres in MTs rely on the magnetic field gradients achieved, which are orders of magnitude higher than similar standard systems, and allow three-dimensional trapping. Our results could be useful in trapping particles through the intrinsic magnetization of ferromagnetic nanoparticles while avoiding the commonly used mechanisms associated with Joule heating.