Magnetization reversal in bent nanofibers of different cross sections

Ferromagnetic nanofibers and nanofiber based networks with new electronic, magnetic, mechanical, and other physical properties can be considered significant components of bio-inspired cognitive computing units. For this purpose, it is necessary to examine all relevant physical parameters of such nanofiber networks. Due to the more or less random arrangement of the nanofibers, first of all, the elementary single nanofibers with varying bending radii, from straight fibers to those bent along half-circles, were investigated by micromagnetic simulations, using different angles with respect to the external magnetic field. Different fiber cross sections, i.e., circular, circle-segment, rectangular, significantly altered the coercive fields and their dependence on the bending radius, for the magnetic field oriented differently in relation to the fiber axes. The shapes of the longitudinal and transverse hysteresis curves showed strong differences, depending on cross section, bending radius, and orientation to the magnetic field, often depicting distinct transverse magnetization peaks perpendicular to the fibers for fibers which were not completely oriented parallel to the magnetic field. Varying these parameters thus provides a broad spectrum of magnetization reversal processes in magnetic nanofibers and correspondingly scenarios for a variety of fiber-based information processing.