NSF Collaborative Research: Understanding Magnetostrictive Galfenol Physics for Micro- and Nano-Scale Devices

The research focuses on structured analytical and experimental analysis of magnetostriction in iron-gallium (Galfenol) thin films and nanowires to advance understanding of the magnetostrictive physics at this scale and to enable transformative new micro- and nano-scale device functionality. This alloy system has the distinct advantage of having high strains in response to magnetic fields (400ppm) while also exhibiting the mechanical ductility and strength of iron. The ability to electrodeposit this active material is possible due to preliminary work which overcame the difficulty of Ga oxidation in aqueous electrolytes, and which therefore enabled FeGa metallic alloys to be fabricated as thin films and nanowires.

Understanding Magnetostrictive Galfenol Physics for Micro- and Nano-Scale Devices is a three-year, $310K award.