Variations as small as 2 nm in the dimensions of a nickel microwire exposed to a magnetic field have been detected using an atomic force microscope specially made of nonmagnetic materials. Based on the results of these high-precision measurements, it is established that the ballistic magnetoresistance of nanocontacts formed by nickel electrodeposition between nickel nanowires is related to a considerable extent to the mutual displacement of nanowires caused by magnetostriction. Analogous measurements for nickel nanofilms did not reveal such displacements to within the experimental sensitivity. Therefore, film nanostructures are more suitable for the formation of nanocontacts with a minimum magnetostriction contribution.
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