Transport in superlattices of magnetic nanoparticles: coulomb blockade, hysteresis, and switching induced by a magnetic field.

We report on magnetotransport measurements on millimetric superlattices of Co-Fe nanoparticles surrounded by an organic layer. At low temperature, the transition between the Coulomb blockade and the conductive regime becomes abrupt and hysteretic. The transition between both regimes can be induced by a magnetic field, leading to a novel mechanism of magnetoresistance. Between 1.8 and 10 K, a high-field magnetoresistance attributed to magnetic disorder at the surface of the particles is also observed. Below 1.8 K, this magnetoresistance abruptly collapses and a low-field magnetoresistance is observed.