Magnetic force sensing using a self-assembled nanowire

We present a scanning magnetic force sensor based on an individual magnet-tipped GaAs nanowire (NW) grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Its magnetic tip consists of a final segment of single-crystal MnAs formed by sequential crystallization of the liquid Ga catalyst droplet. We characterize the mechanical and magnetic properties of such NWs by measuring their flexural mechanical response in an applied magnetic field. Comparison with numerical simulations allows the identification of their equilibrium magnetization configurations, which in some cases include magnetic vortices. To determine a NW's performance as a magnetic scanning probe, we measure its response to the field profile of a lithographically patterned current-carrying wire. The NWs' tiny tips and their high force sensitivity make them promising for imaging weak magnetic field patterns on the nanometer-scale, as required for mapping mesoscopic transport and spin textures or in nanometer-scale magnetic resonance.