Induced magnetic anisotropy in Co-doped Finemet-type nanocrystalline materials

Transverse magnetic anisotropy has been induced in the Fe_14.7Co_58.8Cu₁Nb₃Si_13.5B₉ and Fe_13.8Co₆₅Cu_0.6Nb_2.6Si₉B₉ amorphous ribbons by annealing under an external magnetic field. This anisotropy plays a predominant role, compared to magneto-crystalline and magneto-elastic anisotropies, in forming the magnetic properties and shaping the hysteresis loop. The effect of temperature and time of annealing on the induced magnetic anisotropy and magnetic properties (magnetic permeability, coercivity and power losses) in both alloys was investigated. Under this work, measurements of frequency dependence of the real and imaginary parts of magnetic permeability were made within a frequency range up to 110 MHz. It was found that as a result of magnetic field annealing the Snoek limit increases in both alloys compared to the Co-free Finemet.     

High Bs nanocrystalline Fe84−x−yCuxNbySi4B12 alloys (x=0.0-1.4, y=0.0-2.5)

In this study, Cu and Nb content dependences of magnetic properties for annealed Fe_84−x−yCu_xNb_ySi₄B₁₂ alloy ribbons fabricated by melt spinning were investigated. In Fe_83−xCu_xNb₁Si₄B₁₂ alloy systems, the coercivity H_c markedly decreases with increasing x and exhibits a minimum at around x=1.0-1.2, while the saturation magnetic flux density B_s shows a slight variation. In Fe_83−yCu₁Nb_ySi₄B₁₂ alloy systems, H_c markedly decreases at around y=0.5, while B_s shows a monotonic decrease. Fe₈₂Cu₁Nb₁Si₄B₁₂ nanocrystalline alloy ribbons exhibit a high B_s of 1.78 T and a low H_c of 3.2 A/m. The core losses of the present alloys at 1.0 T at 400 Hz, P_10/400, and at 1.0 T at 1 kHz, P_10/1k, are 1.3 and 4.4 W/kg, respectively.     

Permeability-frequency spectra of (Fe1−xcox)73.5Cu1Nb3Si13.5B9 nanocrystalline alloys under different magnetic fields

Under various amplitude of AC magnetic fields domain wall motion is the main mechanism in the magnetization process. This includes domain wall bulging and domain wall displacing. In this paper complex permeability-frequency spectra of (Fe_1−xCo_x)_73.5Cu₁Nb₃Si_13.5B₉ (x=0,0.5$x=0,0.5$) nanocrystalline alloys were measured as a function of the AC magnetic field, ranging from 0.001 to 0.04 Oe. Obvious changes have been found in complex permeability spectra for alloy x=0$x=0$ with the change of the amplitude of AC magnetic field, but variation of AC magnetic field has little effect on complex permeability spectra for alloy x=0.5$x=0.5$. This is attributed to the increased pinning field after substitution of Fe with Co in Fe_73.5Cu₁Nb₃Si_13.5B₉ nanaocrystalline alloy.     

The existence of giant magnetocaloric effect and laminar structure in Fe73.5−xCrxSi13.5B9Nb3Cu1

Amorphous soft magnetic ribbons Fe_73.5−xCr_xSi_13.5B₉Nb₃Cu₁ (x=1–5) have been fabricated by rapid quenching on a single copper wheel. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) patterns showed that the crystallization temperature of α-Fe(Si) phase is ranging from 542 to 569 °C, a little higher than that of pure Finemet (x=0). With the same annealing regime, the crystallization volume fraction as well as the particle size of α-Fe(Si) crystallites decreased with increasing Cr amount substituted for Fe in studied samples. Especially, the interesting fact is that the laminar structure of heat-treated ribbons on the surface contacted to copper wheel in the fabricating process has been firstly discovered and explained to be related to the existence of Cr in studied samples. The hysteresis loop measurement indicated that there is the pinning of displacement of domain walls. The giant magnetocaloric effect (GMCE) has been found in amorphous state of the samples. After annealing, the soft magnetic properties of investigated nanocomposite materials are desirably improved.     

Effect of Nb addition on the structure and soft magnetic properties of melt-spun Co69Fe7Si14B10 alloy

Melt-spun ribbons of Co₆₉Fe₇Si_14−xNb_xB₁₀ alloys with x=0, 2 and 4 have been prepared and characterized for structure and soft magnetic properties. Ribbons with x=0 and x=2 are found to be completely amorphous whereas the ribbon with x=4 contains irregular shaped faulted Co₂Si orthorhombic phase with grain size of about 100 nm. Nb addition is found to decrease the degree of amorphicity and induce perpendicular anisotropy, deteriorating the soft magnetic and magnetoimpedance properties.     

Stress-MI and domain studies in Co-based nanocrystalline ribbons

A systematic investigation of the influence of different types of annealing on the magnetoimpedance (MI) effect in melt-spun (Co_1−xFe_x)₈₉Zr₇B₄ [x=0, 0.025, 0.05] and (Co_0.88Fe_0.12)_78.4Nb_2.6Si₉B₉Al ribbons has been carried out in the frequency range 500 kHz-13 MHz and under dc magnetic fields (H_dc) up to 80 Oe. In the stress annealed ribbons, the strain-induced transverse anisotropy is seen to result in large MI. Magnetic domains were investigated in the ribbons through magnetic force microscopy.     

Soft magnetic properties and giant magneto-impedance effect of Fe73.5−xCrxSi13.5B9Nb3Au1 (x=1–5) alloys

In this paper, the effect of microstructural and surface morphological developments on the soft magnetic properties and giant magneto-impedance (GMI) effect of Fe_73.5−xCr_xSi_13.5B₉Nb₃Au₁ (x=1, 2, 3, 4, 5) alloys was investigated. It was found that the Cr addition causes slight decrease in the mean grain size of α-Fe(Si) grains. AFM results indicated a large variation of surface morphology of density and size of protrusions along the ribbon plane due to structural changes caused by thermal treatments with increasing Cr content. Ultrasoft magnetic properties such as the increase of magnetic permeability and the decrease of coercivity were observed in the samples annealed at 540 °C for 30 min. Accordingly, the GMI effect was also observed in the annealed samples.     

Fe39.4－xCo40Si9B9Nb2.6Cux纳米晶合金的有效磁各向异性研究

采用多晶材料趋近饱和定律研究了非晶Fe_39.4-xCo₄₀Si₉B₉Nb_2.6Cu_x(x=0.5,1,1.5) 合金在不同温度纳米晶化后的有效磁各向异性常数〈K〉.结果表明， Cu含量较低(x=0.5)时，纳米晶粒较大并且在较低的退火温度(550℃)下析出硬磁相，〈K〉随退火温度T_a升高显著增加；随着Cu含量的增加，有效地细化了晶粒，并且抑制了硼化物的析出，〈K〉明显减小.讨论了〈K〉与晶粒尺寸D及初始磁导率的关系. 关键词： 纳米晶 有效磁各向异性 磁导率 FeCo基合金     

Magnetoresistive properties of Zn1−xCoxFe2O4 ferrites

The magnetic and magnetoresistive properties of spinel-type Zn_1−xCo_xFe₂O₄ (x=0, 0.2 and 0.4) ferrites are extensively investigated in this study. A large negative magnetoresistance (MR) effect is observed in Zn_1−xCo_xFe₂O₄ ferrites of spinel structure. These materials are either ferrimagnetic or paramagnetic at room temperature, and show a spin-(cluster) glass transition at low temperatures, depending on the chemical compositions. The MR curves as a function of magnetic fields, MR(H), are parabolic at all temperatures for paramagnetic polycrystalline ZnFe₂O₄. The MR for ZnFe₂O₄ at 110 K in the presence of 9 T applied magnetic field is 30%. On the other hand, MR(H) are linear for x=0.2 and 0.4 ferrimagnetic Zn_1−xCo_xFe₂O₄ samples up to 9 T. The MR effect is independent of the sintering temperatures, and can be explained with the help of the spin-dependent scattering and the Yafet–Kittel angle of Zn_1−xCo_xFe₂O₄ mixed ferrites.     

Coercivity and induced magnetic anisotropy by stress and/or field annealing in Fe- and Co- based (Finemet-type) amorphous alloys

Uniaxial magnetic anisotropy has been induced in amorphous Fe_73.5Cu₁Nb₃Si_15.5B₇ (Fe-rich) and (Co₇₇Si_13.5B_9.5)₉₀Fe₇Nb₃ (Co-rich) ferromagnetic alloys by annealing under stress and/or magnetic field. Such anisotropy plays a crucial role on the magnetization process and, consequently, determine the future applications of these materials. The mechanisms involved on the origin of such induced magnetic anisotropy showed significant differences between Fe-rich and Co-rich amorphous alloys. This work provides a comparative study of the coercive field and induced magnetic anisotropy in Fe-rich and Co-rich (Finemet) amorphous alloys treated by stress and/or field.     

Annealing effect on soft magnetic properties and magnetoimpedance of Finemet Fe73.5Si13.5B9Nb3Au1 alloy

Effect of annealing on the soft magnetic properties of Fe_73.5Si_13.5B₉Nb₃Au₁ amorphous ribbon has been investigated by means of structure examination, magnetoimpedance ratio (MIR) and incremental permeability ratio (PR) spectra measured in the frequency range of 1–10 MHz at a fixed current of 10 mA X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the as-cast sample was amorphous and it became nanocrystalline under a proper heat treatment. When annealing amorphous alloy at 530 °C for 30, 60, 90 min, soft magnetic properties have been improved drastically. Among the samples investigated, the sample annealed at 530 °C for 90 min showed the softest magnetic behavior. The MIR and PR curves revealed the desirable changes in anisotropy field depending upon annealing.     

Magnetic properties of the Ce2Fe17−xMnx helical magnets up to high magnetic fields

Magnetic properties of the Ce₂Fe_17−xMn_x, x=0–2, alloys in magnetic fields up to 40 T are reported. The compounds with x=0.5–1 are helical antiferromagnets and those with 1<x?2 are helical ferromagnets or helical antiferromagnets at low and high T, respectively. Mn ions in the system carry average magnetic moment of 3.0±0.2 μ_B that couple antiparallelly to the Fe moments. Easy-plane magnetic anisotropy in the Ce₂Fe_17−xMn_x compounds weakens upon substitution of Mn for Fe. The absolute value of the first anisotropy constant in the Ce₂Fe_17−xMn_x helical ferromagnets decreases slower with increasing temperature than that calculated from the third power of the spontaneous magnetization. Noticeable magnetic hysteresis in the Ce₂Fe_17−xMn_x, x=0.5–2, helical magnets over the whole range of magnetic fields reflects mainly irreversible deformation of the helical magnetic structure during the magnetization of the compounds. A contribution from short-range order (SRO) magnetic clusters to the magnetic hysteresis of the helical magnets has been also estimated.     

Die-upset Nd11.5Fe72.4Co9Nb1B6.1 magnets with additions of Zn, Al and Sn

The magnetic properties and microstructure were studied for bulk Nd_11.5Fe_72.4Co₉Nb₁B_6.1 magnets synthesized by hot-pressing and subsequent die-upsetting the melt-spun ribbons with additions of three kinds of low-melting-point metal (Zn, Al and Sn). Die-upset Nd_11.5Fe_72.4Co₉Nb₁B_6.1 magnets have low magnetic properties since they have an inhomogeneous microstructure with many coarse grains. The microstructure of die-upset magnets remains almost unchanged with Al and Sn additions, which only have negative effects on the magnetic properties. Different from Al and Sn additions, Zn addition changes the phase composition of the starting melt-spun powers due to the reaction of Zn and Nd₂Fe₁₄B during hot-pressing and hot-deforming and enhances the development of the desired [0 0 1] texture and improves the microstructure of die-upset magnets. As a result, an anisotropic magnet with good maximum energy product (221 kJ/m³) and high coercivity (670 kA/m) is obtained by adding 2 wt% Zn to the Nd_11.5Fe_72.4Co₉Nb₁B_6.1 alloy.     

Recoilless fraction, structural, magnetic and thermal properties of Fe73.5Cu1Nb3Si13.5B9 alloy

Differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and room temperature Mössbauer spectrum measurements of Fe_73.5Cu₁Nb₃Si_13.5B₉ (Finemet) alloy have been carried out in order to study its structural and magnetic properties as a function of annealing temperature. The DSC profile of as-quenched Finemet showed two exothermic peaks at 530 and 702 °C, corresponding to two crystallization processes. The Finemet alloy remains amorphous at 450 °C with one broad peak in XRD pattern and one broad sextet in Mössbauer spectrum. When the Finemet alloy was annealed at 550 °C, only well indexed body-center-cubic phase was detected. After being annealed at 650 and 750 °C, the XRD patterns showed the coexistence of α-Fe(Si) and Fe-B intermetallic phases with the increase in XRD peak intensities, indicating the growth of crystallites and the decomposition of Fe_73.5Cu₁Nb₃Si_13.5B₉ alloy at elevated temperatures. The Mössbauer spectra of annealed Finemet alloy could be fitted with 4 or 5 sextets and one doublet at higher annealing temperatures, revealing the appearance of different crystalline phases corresponding to the different Fe sites above the crystallization temperature. The appearance of the nanocrystalline phases at different annealing temperatures was further confirmed by the recoilless fraction measurements.     

Temperature dependence of magnetic anisotropy in nanoparticles of CoxFe(3−x)O4

In this paper we present a study of the magnetic anisotropy constant of nanocrystalline magnetic particles of Co_xFe_(3−x)O₄, with x ranging from 0.05 to 1.6, synthesized by a combustion reaction. The magnetic anisotropy constants were obtained by fitting the high-field part of the major hysteresis loops with the law of approach equation down to temperatures of 4 K and up to fields of 60 kOe. The anisotropy constant depends strongly on both temperature and cobalt content x, exhibiting a nonmonotic dome-shaped dependence on x with a maximum at x=1.0. We found that fits at lower temperatures, i.e., 4 and 72 K, give values of K₁ that are approximately one order of magnitude higher than those at higher temperatures, i.e., 272 and 340 K. For example, K₁ for specimens with x=0.8 and 1.0 are 4.21×10⁷ and 4.22×10⁷ ergs/cm³ at 4 K, and 7.64×10⁶ and 7.51×10⁶ ergs/cm³ at 340 K, respectively. Thus, our determination of temperature-dependence of the anisotropy constant represents an improvement over existing works.     

Effect of quenching wheel speed on the structure, magnetic properties and magnetoimpedance effect in Co64Fe4Ni2B19−xSi8Cr3Alx (x=0, 1 and 2) melt-spun ribbons

Melt-spun ribbons of Co₆₄Fe₄Ni₂B_19−xSi₈Cr₃Al_x (x=0, 1 and 2) alloy at wheel speed of 25 m/s and Co₆₄Fe₄Ni₂B_19−xSi₈Cr₃Al₁ alloy at different wheel speeds (25, 30, 35 and 40 m/s) have been prepared and investigated for structural and magnetic properties and magnetoimpedance effect. Based on the results obtained, it was shown that replacement of B by Al can improve the magnetoimpedance ratio (MIR) and the highest value of MIR (191%) was observed for the sample with X_Al=1 at wheel speed of 25 m/s. Further, it was seen that the higher quenching wheel speed gives rise to a higher coercivity and lower magnetic permeability/MIR value.     

Structure,magnetic properties and magnetostriction of laves compounds Nd1−xPrx(Fe0.35Co0.55B0.1)2

The C15 Laves phases with composition Nd_1−xPr_x(Fe_0.35Co_0.55B_0.1)₂ (0?x?1) have been synthesized by arc melting and subsequent annealing. The Curie temperature T_c and the saturation magnetizations M_s at 5 and 295 K decrease with increasing Pr content. The linear anisotropic magnetostriction λ_a=λ_∥−λ_⊥ at room temperature for Nd_1−xPr_x(Fe_0.35Co_0.55B_0.1)₂ alloys with 0?x?0.4 initially reaches a negative minimum, then increases and changes its sign with increasing magnetic field H, and the λ_a for the alloys with x?0.6 is positive and increases as magnetic field H increases.     

Structural, AC, and DC magnetic properties of Zn1−xCoxFe2O4

Structural, AC and DC magnetic properties of polycrystalline Zn_1−xCo_xFe₂O₄ (x=0.2, 0.4) samples sintered at various temperatures (1100-1300 °C), and various dwell times (0.2-15 h) have been investigated thoroughly. The bulk density of the Zn_0.60Co_0.40Fe₂O₄ samples increases as the sintering temperature (T_s) increases from 1100 to 1250 °C, and above 1250 °C the bulk density decreases slightly. The Zn_0.80Co_0.20Fe₂O₄ samples show similar behavior of changes to that of Zn_0.60Co_0.40Fe₂O₄ samples except that the bulk density is found to be highest at 1200 °C. The DC magnetization as a function of temperature curves show that the Zn_0.60Co_0.40Fe₂O₄ sample is ferrimagnetic at room temperature while the Zn_0.80Co_0.20Fe₂O₄ sample is paramagnetic at room temperature. The T_c of Zn_0.80Co_0.20Fe₂O₄ sample is found to be 170 K from DC magnetization measurement. Separate measurement (AC magnetization), initial permeability as a function of temperature shows that the T_c of the Zn_0.60Co_0.40Fe₂O₄ sample is 353 K. Slight variation of T_c is observed depending on sintering condition. The initial permeability for the Zn_0.60Co_0.40Fe₂O₄ composition sintered at 1250 °C is found to be maximum.     

Magnetic properties of half-metallic semi Heusler Co1−xCuxMnSb compounds

A study of the half-metallic character of the semi Heusler alloys Co_1−xCu_xMnSb (0?x?0.9) is presented. We investigated the saturation magnetization M_S at temperatures from 5 K to room temperature and the temperature dependence of the DC magnetic susceptibility χ above Curie temperature T_C. The magnetic moments at 5 K, for most compositions are very close to the quantized value of 4 μ_B for Mn³⁺ ion, the compound with 90% Co substituted by Cu is still ferromagnetic with M_S (5 K)=3.78 μ_B/f.u. These results emphasize the role of Co atoms in maintaining the ferromagnetic order in the material. The Curie temperature is decreased from 476 K to about 300 K as the Cu content increases from 0% to 90%. Above T_C, the χ⁻¹ vs T curves follow very well the Curie–Weiss law. The effective moment μ_eff and paramagnetic Curie temperature θ are derived. A comparison between the values of M_S at 5 K and μ_eff shows a transition from localized to itinerant spin system in these compounds.     

High-temperature oxidation resistance and magnetic properties of Si-doped Sm2Co17-type magnets at 500 °C

The high-temperature oxidation resistance and magnetic properties of Si-doped Sm₂Co₁₇-type magnets at 500 °C were systematically investigated. The Sm(Co_0.76, Fe_0.1, Cu_0.1, Zr_0.04)₇Si_x (x=0–0.6) magnets were prepared by the conventional powder metallurgical technique. It is found that the addition of silicon in the Sm₂Co₁₇-type magnet can remarkably improve its oxidation resistance. Moreover, a small amount of silicon addition can also increase its high-temperature intrinsic coercivity. A maximum intrinsic coercivity of 6.7 kOe at 500 °C was obtained for the Sm₂Co₁₇-type magnet with Si content x=0.4, whose high-temperature maximum energy product loss was about 2.5 times smaller than pure Sm₂Co₁₇-type magnet after oxidation at 500 °C for 100 h, indicating the enhanced oxidation resistance. Its corresponding Curie temperature and saturation magnetization are about 723.9 °C and 7.4 kG, respectively.