Variation of the switching field of composite nanowires with different widths

The switching field of a 300 nm wide nanowire has been controlled by attaching a wide wire to it. The width of the wide wires varies from 700 nm to 2000 nm. While the connection of the two wires does not affect the switching field of the wide wires, it strongly affects the 300 nm-wire, resulting in a decrease of the switching field of the isolated wire from 175 Oe to 54 Oe when the 2000 nm-wire is connected to it. This result clearly shows that the switching field of the nanowire can be engineered by attaching a nucleation pad that has a different magnetic anisotropy.