Characterization of lead-bismuth eutectic nanowires

In this work, lead-bismuth eutectic alloy nanowires were fabricated by a novel vacuum melting method and centrifugal process. An anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template was used to produce an array of ordered, dense, and continuous Pb-Bi nanowires. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy investigations reveal that nanowires with a diameter of 80 nm are composed of Pb₇Bi₃ and Bi phases, and have a single orientation of growth. Magnetic susceptibility and hysteresis measurements have been used to characterize the superconductive and magnetic properties of the nanowires. The results show that Pb-Bi nanowires have a slightly lower superconducting transition temperature than Pb-Bi eutectic alloy bulk, and only about 1% superconductivity volume fraction in magnetic fields both perpendicular and parallel to the plate. In magnetization curves, a fairly large hysteresis is observed for both field orientations. PACS 81.07.Bc; 81.20.-n; 74.70.Ad