Effect of magnetic field annealing on microstructure and magnetic properties of FePt films

FePt (20 nm) films were annealed in a magnetic field (along the normal direction of the films) at a temperature around the Curie temperature of L1₀ FePt. The influence of magnetic filed annealing on texture and magnetic properties of FePt films were investigated. The results indicate that preferential (0 0 1) orientation and perpendicular anisotropy can be obtained in L1₀ FePt films by using magnetic field annealing around the Curie temperature of L1₀ FePt. This is one of the potential methods to obtain (0 0 1) orientation and thus to improve the perpendicular anisotropy in FePt films.     

Electrochemical studies of zinc-nickel codeposition in sulphate bath

The electrodeposition of Zn-Ni alloys from a sulphate bath was studied under different conditions. The bath had the composition 0.40 M sodium sulphate, 0.01 M sulphuric acid, 0.16 M boric acid, 0.20 M zinc sulphate and 0.20 M nickel sulphate. It is found that the plating bath temperature has a great effect on the cyclic voltammograms, galvanostatic measurements during electrodeposition, and consequently linear polarization resistance for corrosion study and the alloy composition. Under the examined conditions, the electrodeposition of the alloys was of anomalous type. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that the alloys consisted of the δ-phase (Ni₃Zn₂₂) or a mixture of the two phases δ and γ (Ni₅Zn₂₁). The comparison between Ni deposition and Zn-Ni codeposition revealed that the remarkable inhibition of Ni deposition takes place due to the presence of Zn²⁺ in the plating bath. The Ni deposition starts at −0.85 V in the bath of Ni deposition only, but the deposition starts at more negative potentials in the codeposition bath although the concentration of Ni²⁺ is the same in the both baths.     

A study on magnetic properties and structure of SmCo5 thin films on Ni-W underlayers

A systematic study on Ni-W alloy underlayers has shown that a highly textured (2 1 1)-Ni₄W can be formed after deposition at room temperature. Highly textured (0 0 0 1)-SmCo₅ with a high out-of-plane coercivity (over 10 kOe) and large perpendicular anisotropy can be obtained after deposition on the (2 2 1)-Ni₄W underlayer probably due to a small mismatch between (2 2 1)-Ni₄W and (0 0 0 1)-SmCo₅. Our study indicates that the surface roughness of the underlayers also plays a crucial role, that a smooth surface is favorable for a good crystallinity and high coercivity of SmCo₅. Moreover, we found that a highly textured Ni-(1 1 1) can be obtained on the top of the (2 1 1)-textured Ni₄W. The film structure of SmCo₅/Ni/Ni₄W may be interesting as the hard/soft double-layered film for perpendicular magnetic recording or for other applications after a further development.     

Anti-Invar properties and magnetic order in fcc Fe-Ni-C alloy

Anti-Invar effect was revealed in the fcc Fe-25.3%Ni-0.73%C (wt%) alloy, which demonstrates high values of thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) (15-21)×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ accompanied by almost temperature-insensitive behavior in temperature range of 122-525 K. Alloying with carbon considerably expanded the low temperature range of anti-Invar behavior in fcc Fe-Ni-based alloy. The Curie temperature of the alloy T_C=195 K was determined on measurements of temperature dependences of magnetic susceptibility and saturation magnetization. The Mössbauer and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments on the fcc Fe-25.3%Ni-(0.73-0.78)%C alloys with the varying temperatures below and above the Curie point and in external magnetic field of 1.5-5 T were conducted. Low value of the Debye temperature Θ_D=180 K was estimated using the temperature dependence of the integral intensity of Mössbauer spectra for specified temperature range. The inequality B_eff=(0.7-0.9)B_ext was obtained in external field Mössbauer measurement that points to antiferromagnetically coupled Fe atoms, which have a tendency to align their spins perpendicular to B_ext. Nano length scale magnetic inhomogeneities nearby and far above T_C were revealed, which assumed that it is caused by mixed antiferromagnetically and ferromagnetically coupled Fe atom spins. The anti-Invar behavior of Fe-Ni-C alloy is explained in terms of evolution of magnetic order with changing temperature resulting from thermally varied interspin interaction and decreasing stiffness of interatomic bond.     

Advances in amorphous and nanocrystalline materials

A new amorphous alloy has been recently introduced which shows a saturation magnetic induction B_s of 1.64 T which is compared with B_s=1.57 T for a currently available Fe-based amorphous alloy and decreased magnetic losses. Such a combination is rare but can be explained in terms of induced magnetic anisotropy being reduced by the alloy's chemistry and its heat treatment. It has been found that the region of magnetization rotation in the new alloy is considerably narrowed, resulting in reduced exciting power in the magnetic devices utilizing the material. Efforts to increase B_s also have been made for nanocrystalline alloys. For example, a nanocrystalline alloy having a composition of Fe_80.5Cu_1.5Si₄B₁₄ shows B_s exceeding 1.8 T. The iron loss at 50 Hz and at 1.6 T induction in a toroidal core of this material is 0.46 W/kg which is 2/3 that of a grain-oriented silicon steel. At 20 kHz/0.2 T excitation, the iron loss is about 60% of that in an Fe-based amorphous alloy which is widely used in power electronics. Another example is a Fe₈₅Si₂B₈P₄Cu₁ nanocrystalline alloy with a B_s of 1.8 T, which is reported to exhibit a magnetic core loss of about 0.2 W/kg at 50 Hz and at 1.5 T induction. This article is a review of these new developments and their impacts on energy efficient magnetic devices.     

As-grown preparation of FePt-ordered alloy thin films from Pt/Fe bi-layered structure

A novel method to fabricate FePt-ordered alloy thin films with (0 0 1) preferential orientation from Pt/Fe bi-layered films has been developed. It is able to omit post-annealing with a furnace, and the whole process can be conducted in a chamber without exposing samples to air. In this method, the inter-diffusion and the hetero-epitaxial relation between Fe and Pt are key factors to attain an FePt-ordered alloy thin film with (0 0 1) preferential orientation. An FePt-ordered alloy thin film with (0 0 1) preferential orientation fabricated from Pt[3 nm]/Fe[3 nm] bi-layer employing this method exhibited a relatively large coercivity of 5.6 kOe and high squareness ratio of 0.94 on perpendicular magnetization property. This novel method has a potential to fabricate FePt-based perpendicular magnetic recording media more easily than several conventional methods.     

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of FePt film on Si substrate with SiO2 underlayer and B4C interlayers

FePt multilayer composite films with and without B₄C interlayer have been prepared by magnetron sputtering, respectively, and subsequent annealing in vacuum. It was found that the B₄C layers effectively serve as spacers to separate the FePt layers, enhancing (0 0 1) orientation of FePt alloy. Our results show that highly (0 0 1) oriented FePt/B₄C films have significant potential as perpendicular recording media.     

Magnetic properties of the novel nanocomposite (Zn0.15Ni0.85Fe2O4)0.15/(SiO2)0.85 at room temperature

The value of the effective magnetic anisotropy constant of the ferrimagnetic nanoparticles Zn_0.15Ni_0.85Fe₂O₄ embedded in a SiO₂ silica matrix, determined through ferromagnetic resonance (FMR), is much higher than the magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant. The higher value of the anisotropy constant is due to the existence of surface anisotropy. However, even if the magnetic anisotropy is high, the ferrimagnetic nanoparticles with a 15% concentration, which are isolated in a SiO₂ matrix, display a superparamagnetic (SPM) behavior at room temperature and at a frequency of the magnetization field equal to 50 Hz. The FMR spectrum of the novel nanocomposite (Zn_0.15Ni_0.85Fe₂O₄)_0.15/(SiO₂)_0.85, recorded at room temperature and a frequency of 9.060 GHz, is observed at a resonance field (B_0r) of 0.2285 T, which is substantially lower than the field corresponding to free electron resonance (ESR) (0.3236 T). Apart from the line corresponding to the resonance of the nanoparticle system, the spectrum also contains an additional weaker line, identified for a resonance field of ∼0.12 T, which is appreciably lower than B_0r. This line was attributed to magnetic ions complex that is in a disordered structure in the layer that has an average thickness of 1.4 nm, this layer being situated on the surface of the Zn_0.15Ni_0.85Fe₂O₄ nanoparticles that have a mean magnetic diameter of 8.9 nm.     

Structural,electronic and optical properties of CdxZn1 − xS alloys from first-principles calculations

Structural, electronic and optical properties as well as structural phase transitions of ternary alloy Cd_xZn_1 − xS have been investigated using the first-principles calculations based on the density functional theory. We found that the crystal structure of Cd_xZn_1 − xS alloys transforms from wurtzite to zinc blende as Cd content of x=0.83$x=0.83$. Effect of Cd content on electronic structures of Cd_xZn_1 − xS alloys has been studied. The bandgaps of Cd_xZn_1 − xS alloys with wurtzite and zinc blende structures decrease with the increase of Cd content. Furthermore, dielectric constant and absorption coefficient also have been discussed in detail.     

Influence of annealing temperature on structural, optical and magnetic properties of Mn-doped ZnO thin films prepared by sol-gel method

Thin films of Zn_1−xMn_xO (x=0.01) diluted magnetic semiconductor were prepared on Si (1 0 0) substrates by the sol-gel method. The influence of annealing temperature on the structural, optical and magnetic properties was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atom force microscopy (AFM), photoluminescence (PL) and SQUID magnetometer (MPMS, Quantum Design). The XRD spectrum shows that all the films are single crystalline with (0 0 2) preferential orientation along c-axis, indicating there are not any secondary phases. The atomic force microscopy images show the surfaces morphologies change greatly with an increase in annealing temperature. PL spectra reveal that the films marginally shift the near band-edge (NBE) position due to stress. The magnetic measurements of the films using SQUID clearly indicate the room temperature ferromagnetic behavior, and the Curie temperature of the samples is above room temperature. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) patterns suggest that Mn²⁺ ions were successfully incorporated into the lattice position of Zn²⁺ ions in ZnO host. It is also found that the post-annealing treatment can affect the ferromagnetic behavior of the films effectively.     

Synthesis and magnetic properties of Ni-doped zinc oxide powders

Polycrystalline Zn_1−xNi_xO diluted magnetic semiconductors have been successfully synthesized by an auto-combustion method. X-ray diffraction measurements indicated that the 5 at% Ni-doped ZnO had the pure wurtzite structure. Refinements of cell parameters from powder diffraction data revealed that the cell parameters of Zn_0.95Ni_0.05O were a little bit larger than ZnO. Transmission electron microscopy observation showed that the as-synthesized powders were of the size ∼60 nm. Magnetic investigations showed that the nanocystalline Zn_0.95Ni_0.05O possessed room temperature ferromagnetism with the saturation magnetic moment of 0.1 emu/g (0.29 μ_B/Ni²⁺).     

Evaluation of magnetic force distribution on a pair of superconducting bulk magnets

We study the construction of superconducting permanent magnets by RE123 bulk materials and the investigation of these industrial applications such as a magnetic separation. A bulk magnet can generate strong magnetic fields exceeding 2 T, which is the limit of ordinary iron-cored electromagnets, in a compact device with a low running cost. A magnetic field distribution of the bulk magnet is a cone shape, and it contributes to an increase of magnetic force which is proportional to the product of a magnetic field and its gradient. It is important to evaluate magnetic force when the application of the bulk magnet is discussed. In this paper, two Gd123 bulk materials of 65 mm in diameter were magnetized using a pair of superconducting bulk magnet system and three-axis components of magnetic flux density (B_x,⋅B_y, and B_z) in an open space between the magnetic poles were scanned with pitch of 2 mm in each direction. From these measured data, the axial and radial components of magnetic force factor, B_z⋅dB_z/dz and B_r⋅dB_r/dr, were calculated. At 10 mm gap, the B_z⋅dB_z/dz value reached 180.6 T²/m for a field of 2.33 T, which is comparable to B_z = 6.76 T for a common 10 T–100 mm∅ superconducting magnet.     

Effect of oxygen pressure on microstructure and magnetic properties of strontium hexaferrite (SrFe12O19) film prepared by pulsed laser deposition

The effects of oxygen pressure during deposition on microstructure and magnetic properties of strontium hexaferrite (SrFe₁₂O₁₉) films grown on Si (100) substrate with Pt (111) underlayer by pulsed laser deposition have been investigated. X-ray diffraction pattern confirms that the films have c-axis perpendicular orientation. The c-axis dispersion (Δθ₅₀) increases and c-axis lattice parameter decreases with increasing oxygen pressure. The films have hexagonal shape grains with diameter of 150-250 nm as determined by atomic force microscopy. The coercivities in perpendicular direction are higher than those in in-plane direction, which shows the films have perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The saturation magnetization and anisotropy field for the film deposited in oxygen pressure of 0.13 mbar are comparable to those of the bulk strontium hexaferrite. Higher oxygen pressure leads to the films having higher coercivity and squareness. The coercivity in perpendicular and in-plane directions of the film deposited in oxygen pressure of 0.13 mbar are 2520 Oe and 870 Oe, respectively.     

Production of bulk dilute ferromagnetic semiconductor by mechanical milling

We tried to prepare the bulk dilute ferromagnetic semiconductor (DMS) by mechanical milling (MM). Experimental results were as following: (1) The observation of X-ray diffraction and transmitting electron microscopy showed that the particle diameter of host ZnO powder were reduced to about 10 nm by MM. (2) The MM for the mixtures of V₂O₅/ZnO or γ-Fe₂O₃/ZnO realizes the V- or Fe-doped ZnO nano-powders. (3) The values of magnetization under the field of 5 kOe were nearly saturated to 0.8×10⁻³ to 3×10⁻³ μ_B/V-ion for V_xZn_1−xO (x=0.05, 0.1 and 0.2), and 0.2–0.3 μ_B/Fe-ion for Fe_xZn_1−xO (x=0.05 and 0.1) at room temperature. The above results show that the ferromagnetic DMS powder of V_xZn_1−xO and Fe_xZn_1−xO were successfully prepared by MM method.     

Photoluminescence and magnetic properties of Fe-doped ZnS nano-particles synthesized by chemical co-precipitation

This paper is focusing on the synthesis of Zn_1−xFe_xS nano-particles with x = 0, 0.1 and 0.2 by chemical co-precipitation method, the prepared of which are characterized by XRD, EDS, TEM, PL, magnetization versus field behavior and M-T curve. In the XRD patterns, Zn_1−xFe_xS nano-particles are shown of cubic zinc blende structure, and the broadening diffraction peaks consistent with the small-size characteristic of nano-materials. The diameter of nano-particles is between 3.3 and 5.5 nm according to the HR-TEM images. The EDS data confirm the existence of Fe ions in Fe-doped ZnS nanoparticles. There we found that Fe-doping did not import new energy bands or defect states, but reduced the intensity of PL peaks. The magnetization versus field behaviors were illustrated by the M-H curves at both 5 K and 300 K, respectively, where no remanence or coercive force was observed. This phenomenon indicates that the Zn_1−xFe_xS (x = 0.1) nano-particles are superparamagnetic. The zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled (FC) magnetization curves further reveal that the blocking temperature (T_B) of the superparamagnetic behavior might be below 5 K.     

Effects of seed layer on the structure and property of zinc oxide thin films electrochemically deposited on ITO-coated glass

ZnO films with different morphologies were deposited on the ITO-coated glass substrate from zinc nitrate aqueous solution at 65 °C by a seed-layer assisted electrochemical deposition route. The seed layers were pre-deposited galvanostatically at different current densities (i_sl) ranging from −1.30 to −3.0 mA/cm², and the subsequent ZnO films had been done using the potentiostatic technique at the cathode potential of −1.0 V. Densities of nucleation centers in the seed layers varied with increasing the current density, and the ZnO films on them showed variable morphologies and optical properties. The uniform and compact nanocrystalline ZnO film with (0 0 2) preferential orientation was obtained on seed layer that was deposited under the current density (i_sl) of −1.68 mA/cm², which exhibited good optical performances.     

Magnetic properties of strontium hexaferrite films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

The magnetic properties of strontium hexaferrite (SrFe₁₂O₁₉) films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition on the Si(100) substrate with Pt(111) underlayer have been studied as a function of film thickness (50–700 nm). X-ray diffraction patterns confirm that the films have c-axis perpendicular orientation. The coercivities in perpendicular direction are higher than those for in-plane direction which indicates the films have perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The coercivity was found to decrease with increasing of thickness, due to the increasing of the grain size and relaxation in lattice strain. The 200 nm thick film exhibits hexagonal shape grains of 150 nm and optimum magnetic properties of M_s=298 emu/cm³ and H_c=2540 Oe.     

Thermomagnetic transitions and coercivity mechanism in bulk composite Nd60Fe30Al10 alloys

The thermomagnetic behaviour (within the temperature range 553-300 K) for the bulk composite Nd₆₀Fe₃₀Al₁₀ alloy is described in terms of a transition from paramagnetic to superferromagnetic state at T=553 K, followed by a ferromagnetic ordering for T<473 K. For the superferromagnetic regime, the alloy thermomagnetic response was associated to a homogeneous distribution of magnetic clusters with mean magnetic moment and size of 1072 μ_B and 2.5 nm, respectively. For T<473 K, a pinning model of domain walls described properly the alloy coercivity dependence with temperature, from which the domain wall width and the magnetic anisotropy constant were estimated as being of ≈8 nm and ≈10⁵ J/m³, typical values of hard magnetic phases. Results are supported by microstructural and magnetic domain observations.     

Characterization and properties of ZnO1−xSx alloy films fabricated by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering

A series of ZnO_1−xS_x alloy films (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) were grown on quartz substrates by radio-frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering of ZnS ceramic target, using oxygen and argon as working gas. X-ray diffraction measurement shows that the ZnO_1−xS_x films have wurtzite structure with (0 0 2) preferential orientation in O-rich side (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.23) and zinc blende structure with (1 1 1) preferential orientation in S-rich side (0.77 ≤ x ≤ 1). However, when the S content is in the range of 0.23 < x < 0.77, the ZnO_1−xS_x film consists of two phases of wurtzite and zinc blende or amorphous ZnO_1−xS_x phase. The band gap energy of the films shows non-linear dependence on the S content, with an optical bowing parameter of about 2.9 eV. The photoluminescence (PL) measurement reveals that the PL spectrum of the wurtzite ZnO_1−xS_x is dominated by visible band and its PL intensity and intensity ratio of UV to visible band decrease greatly compared with undoped ZnO. All as-grown ZnO_1−xS_x films behave insulating, but show n-type conductivity for w-ZnO_1−xS_x and maintain insulating properties for β-ZnO_1−xS_x after annealed. Mechanisms of effects of S on optical and electrical properties of the ZnO_1−xS_x alloy are discussed in the present work.     

Magnetic ordering above room temperature in the sigma-phase of Fe66V34

Magnetic properties of four sigma-phase Fe_100−xV_x samples with 34.4?x?55.1 were investigated by Mössbauer spectroscopy and magnetic measurements in the temperature interval 4.2-300 K. Four magnetic quantities, viz. hyperfine field, Curie temperature, magnetic moment and susceptibility, were determined. The sample containing 34.4 at% V was revealed to exhibit the largest values found up to now for the sigma-phase for average hyperfine field, 〈B〉=12.1 T, average magnetic moment per Fe atom, 〈μ〉=0.89 μ_B, and Curie temperature, T_C=315.3 K. The quantities were shown to be strongly correlated with each other. In particular, T_C is linearly correlated with 〈μ〉 with a slope of 406.5 K/μ_B, as well as 〈B〉 is so correlated with 〈μ〉, yielding 14.3 T/μ_B for the hyperfine coupling constant.