Ferromagnetic resonance of magnetic field oriented Fe3O4 nanoparticles in frozen ferrofluids

Measurements of the orientational dependence of the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectra are made on Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles in ferrofluids solidified in dc magnetic fields. The in field solidification locks the direction of magnetization parallel to the direction of the cooling field enabling measurements as a function of orientation with respect to the direction of magnetization in the frozen state. The g value of the FMR spectra at 77 K is 2.16 and the anisotropy constant is −1.23 J/m³. A marked reduction of the difference between the field position in the parallel and perpendicular orientation onsets on warming to 140 K well below the melting temperature of the fluid carrier and is attributed to the onset of fluctuations in the direction of the magnetization in the solid phase. The phase transition of the magnetic symmetry observed in bulk Fe₃O₄ occurs at much lower temperature in the nanoparticles.