On the morphology of Si/SiO2/Ni nanostructures with swift heavy ion tracks in silicon oxide

Si/SiO 2 /Ni nanostructures are fabricated by the irradiation of an oxidized Si surface with swift heavy ions, nanopore etching in the SiO 2 layer, and the electrochemical deposition of nickel in the nanopores with their partial (∼50%) or complete filling. Studies of the morphology of the metal in the nanopores shows that the nickel-cluster structure is rather homogeneous and formed by crystallites ∼30–50 nm in size. The effects of deposition modes and structure morphology on current transport are analyzed with the use of test temperature dependences of the magnetoresistance. The reproducibility and stability of the magnetoresistance values for the case of homogeneous structure and pore filling with nickel make the Si/SiO 2 /Ni system promising for application as the base element for high-sensitivity low-temperature magnetic field sensors.