Ultrasmall particle detection using a submicron Hall sensor

We demonstrate detection of a single FePt nanoparticle (diameter 150 nm, moment ∼107 μB) using an ultrasensitive InSb Hall sensor with the bar lateral width of 600 nm. The white noise of a typical nanodevice, SV1/2≈28 nV/√Hz, is limited only by two-terminal resistance of the voltage leads which results in a minimum field sensitivity of the device Bmin=0.87 μT/√Hz. To detect a single FePt bead, we employed a phase-sensitive method based on measuring the ac susceptibility change in a bead when exposed to a switched dc magnetic field. Such nano-Hall devices, enabling detection of potentially even smaller moments, are of considerable significance both for nanomagnetic metrology and high sensitivity biological and environmental detectors.