Magnetization and demagnetization behaviours of melt-spun Pr12Fe82B6 and Pr8Fe87B5 ribbons

Nanocrystalline Pr_{12}Fe_{82}B_6 and nanocomposite Pr_8Fe_{87}B_5 ribbons have been prepared using a melt spinning technique. Recoil loops have been measured at 20, 200 and 300K. Demagnetization curves are analysed by dividing it into reversible and irreversible portions. High recoil loop susceptibility at low applied field and large reversible change in the demagnetization curve have been found in Pr_8Fe_{87}B_5 ribbons, showing that the reversible behaviours in nanocomposite permanent magnets originate primarily from the magnetically soft phase. The hysteresis in recoil loops found in Pr_8Fe_{87}B_5 ribbons originates from the soft phase α-Fe that suffers a stress.     

Change in the magnetic ground state of LaFe11.4Al1.6 compound by the substitution of Mn for Fe

The structure and magnetic properties of La(Fe_{1-x}Mn_x)_{11.4}Al_{1.6} (0≤x≤0.25)compounds have been studied. The NaZn_{13}-type structure is preserved and the lattice parameter increases linearly with increasing the Mn concentration. The magnetic ground state changes from the antiferromagnetic to the spin-glass or the cluster-glass state by the substitution of Mn for Fe. Furthermore, a field-induced transition from cluster glass to ferromagnet is found for the samples with x=0.05 and 0.10.     

Sm3（F3,Co,Mn）29 compounds：promising materials for permanent magnets

The outstanding hard-magnetic properties are reported of Sm_3Fe_{28.1-x}Co_xMo_{0.9} compounds with x=12, 14, 16. In this alloy system, only a small amount of Mo is needed to stabilize the 3:29 structure so that the magnetic properties are not seriously affected by the presence of this nonmagnetic element. Substitution of Co for Fe leads to a significant increase of the magnetic anisotropy, and for x≥14 the easy magnetization direction changes from easy plane to the easy axis. In this alloy system, the compound Sm_3Fe_{12.1}Co_{16}Mo_{0.9} is a very promising candidate for permanent magnet applications. Its room temperature saturation magnetization (μ_0M_s=1.5 T) and anisotropy field (B_{an}=6.5 T) are comparable to the values for Nd_2Fe_{14}B (μ_0M_s=1.6 T and B_{an}=7 T). However, the Curie temperature of Sm_3Fe_{12.1}Co_{16}Mo_{0.9} is 1020 K, which is appreciably higher than that for Nd_2Fe_{14}B (T_C=588 K).     

Domain structures of Nd13Fe80B7 magnets during HDDR process

The domain structures of Nd13Fe80B7 alloy at different stages of the HDDR process have been revealed using a magnetic force microscope. In the as-cast samples, the columnar crystals with easy axis perpendicular to one another are clearly characterized by their different domain structures. For the insufficient and sufficient HD treatment, an obvious change of domain structure occurs, which is related to the variation of composition and crystalline microstructure during the HD process. And for the samples after sufficient DR processing, it is confirmed that the configuration of the columnar crystals is retained by the detected domain structures.     

Vortex domain structures and dc currentdependence of magneto-resistances in magnetic tunnel junctions

Microfabrication and the magneto-transport characteristics of the magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with a spin-valve-type structure of Ta (5nm)/Ni_{79}Fe_{21} (25nm)/Ir_{22}Mn_{78} (12nm)/Co_{75}Fe_{25} (4nm)/Al(0.8nm) oxide/Co_{75}Fe_{25} (4nm)/Ni_{79}Fe_{21} (20nm)/Ta(5nm) were investigated in this paper. A series of experimental data measured with a MTJ was used to verify a magnon-assisted tunnelling model and theory. Furthermore, a micromagnetics simulation shows that the butterfly-like vortex domain structures can be formed under a current-induced Oersted field, which decreases the net magnetization values of the ferromagnetic electrodes under a large dc current (i.e., in high voltage regimes). It is one of the main reasons for the tunnel magnetoresistance ratios to decrease significantly at high voltage biasing.     

The anisotropy of Gd－Fe exchange interaction for Gd2Fe17 and Gd2Fe17H3

The magnetization curves along the crystal axes for Gd_2Fe_{17} and Gd_2Fe_{17}H_3 were analysed based on the single-ion model. If the Gd－Fe exchange interaction has been taken as isotropic as usual, the fitted values of magneto-crystalline anisotropy of the Fe sublattices in Gd_2Fe_{17} and Gd_2Fe_{17}H_3 would become unreasonably different from those of the corresponding Y or Lu compounds. It was shown that the large difference is caused by the neglect of the anisotropy of the Gd－Fe exchange interaction.     

Giant magnetocaloric effect in Tb5Ge2-xSi2-xMn2x compounds

The crystal structure,magnetic and magnetocaloric characteristics of the pseduo ternary compounds of Tb5Ge2 xSi2 xMn2x(0 ≤ 2x ≤ 0.1) were investigated by x-ray powder diffraction and magnetization measurements.The x-ray powder diffraction results show that all compounds preserve the monoclinic phase as the majority phase and all the synthesized compounds were observed to be ferromagnetic from magnetization measurements.Magnetic phase transitions were interpreted in terms of Landau theory.Maximum isothermal magnetic entropy change value(20.84 J.kg-1.K-1) was found for Tb5Ge1.95Si1.95Mn0.1 at around 123 K in the magnetic field change of 5 T.     

Magnetic properties of composites of Tb0.28Dy0.72Fe2 and polyvinylidene fluoride

Bi-ferroic particulate composites with Tb_{0.28}Dy_{0.72}Fe_2 (Terfenol-D) particles randomly dispersed in ferroelectric polyvinylidene fluoride matrix prepared by a simple hot-pressing procedure were investigated. With increasing concentration of Terfenol-D, the magnetic susceptibility, saturation magnetization and initial permeability of the composites increases. The dependence of the effective magnetostriction on applied bias for the composites is similar to that for bulk Terfenol-D, but the effective magnetostriction strongly depends on the volume fraction of Terfenol-D. The observed behaviour of the composite is reasonably described by using effective medium theories.     

Effect of Co substitution on magnetic properties and magnetic entropy changes in LaFe11.83Si0.94Al0.23 compounds

Effect of Co substitution on magnetic properties and magnetic entropy changes in LaFe_{11.83}Si_{0.94}Al_{0.23} compounds has been investigated by means of magnetization measurements. X-ray diffraction shows the prepared compounds to be single phase with the cubic NaZn_{13}-type structure. Substitution of Co for Fe leads to an increase of Curie temperature of the material. The magnetic entropy changes in LaFe_{11.83}Si_{0.94}Al_{0.23} and LaFe_{11.03}Co_{0.80}Si_{0.94}Al_{0.23} compounds are 21.8J/(kg·K) to 16.9J/(kg·K) under a magnetic field change of 0－5T at Curie temperature, respectively. Giant magnetic entropy changes are attributed to the higher magnetization and the rapid change in magnetization at Curie temperature.     

Effects of underlayer materials and substrate temperatures on the structural and magnetic properties of Nd2Fe14B films

Thin films of Nd_2Fe_{14}B were fabricated on heated glass substrates by dc magnetron sputtering. Different material underlayers (Ta, Mo, or W) were used to examine the underlayer influence on the structural and magnetic properties of the NdFeB films. Deposited on a Ta buffer layer at 420℃, the 300 nm thick NdFeB films were shown to be isotropic. But when the substrate temperature T_s was elevated to 520℃, the Nd_2Fe_{14}B crystallites of (00l) plane were epitaxially grown on Ta (110) underlayer. In contrast, Mo (110) buffer layer could not induce any preferential orientation in NdFeB film irrespective of the substrate temperature or film thickness. The W buffer layer was found to be most effective for the nucleation of Nd_2Fe_{14}B crystallites with c-axis alignment perpendicular to the film plane when T_s<490℃. But at T_s=490℃ the magnetic layer became isotropic. The maximum coercivity obtained was about 995 kA/m for the 100nm film deposited on W underlayer at 490℃. These variations were tentatively explained in terms of the lattice misfit between the underlayer and the magnetic layer, combined with the considerations of underlayer morphologies.     

Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect in NdxLa1-xFe11.5Al1.5 compounds

Effects of Nd-doping on the magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects （MCEs） of NdxLa1-xFe11.5Al1.5 have been investigated. Substitution of Nd leads to a weakening of the antiferromagnetic （AFM） coupling and an enhancement of the ferromagnetic （FM） coupling. This in turn results in a complex magnetic behaviour for Nd0.2La0.8Fe11.5Al1.5 characterized by the occurrence of two phase transitions at ～188 K （PM AFM） and ～159 K （AFM-FM）. As a result, a table-like MCE （9 J/kg.K） is found in a wide temperature range （160-185 K） for a field change of 0-5T around the transition temperature, as evidenced by both the magnetic and calorimetric measurements. Based on the analysis of low-temperature heat capacity, it is found that the AFM-FM phase transition modifies the electron density significantly, and the major contribution to the entropy change comes from the electronic entropy change.     

Composites of nanotubular polyaniline containing Fe3O4 nanoparticles

Results of charge-transport and magnetic measurements of nanotubular polyaniline (PANI) composites containing Fe_3O_4 nanoparticles (～10nm) synthesized by a "template-free" method are reported. The T^{-1/2} resistivity has been observed, and dc magnetic susceptibility data are fitted to an equation χ=χ^*_P+C/T. With increasing weight ratio of Fe_3O_4, the electrical conductivity and temperature- independent susceptibility χ^*_P increase, and the Curie-type susceptibility is suppressed at low temperatures. Further discussions have been given. The PANI-H_3PO_4/Fe_3O_4 composite containing 27wt% of Fe_3O_4 nanoparticles is superparamagnetic, exhibiting very little hysteresis even at 5K.     

Large magnetic entropy change and magnetic properties in La （Fel－xMnx）ll.TSil.3Hy compounds

Magnetic properties and magnetic entropy change in La(Fe_{1-x}Mn_x)_{11.7}Si_{1.3}H_y compounds have been investigated. A significant increase of the Curie temperature T_C and a small increase of the saturation magnetizations μ_S have been observed after the introduction of interstitial H, which caused a slight volume expansion. The first-order field-induced itinerant-electron metamagnetic (IEM) transition remains and brings about a large magnetic entropy change around room temperatures for the compounds. The maximal magnetic entropy change is about 23.4, 17.7 and 15.9J/kg·K under a magnetic field change from 0 to 5T for x=0.01, 0.02 and 0.03, respectively. Therefore, the compounds appear to be potential candidates for magnetic refrigerants around room temperatures.     

Magnetic properties of Nd0.5Pb0.5—xSrxMnO3 materials

The structure and magnetic properties of Nd_{0.5}Pb_{0.5-x}Sr_xMnO_3 (0≤x≤0.4) manganites were systematically investigated. Significant changes in Curie temperature and metal-insulator (MI) transition temperature of the samples were observed. All samples exhibited a transition from paramagnetic semiconducting to ferromagnetic metallic state. Curie temperature T_C and the MI transition temperature T_p increased with increasing Sr content. We attributed these behaviours to the enhancing of both the double exchange mechanism and the Jahn－Teller electron－phonon coupling.     

A fabrication and magnetic properties study on Al doped Zn0.99Co0.01O dilution ferromagnetic semiconductors

This paper reports that a chemical method is employed to synthesize Co and Al co-doped ZnO,namely,Zn0.99 x Co0.01 Al x O dilution semiconductors with the nominal composition of x = 0,0.005 and 0.02.Structural,magnetic and optical properties of the produced samples are studied.The results indicate that samples sintered in air under the temperatures of 500 C show a single wurtzite ZnO structure and the ferromagnetism decreases with the increase of Al.Photoluminescence spectra of different Al-doped samples indicate that increasing Al concentration in Zn0.99 x Co0.01 Al x O results in a decrease of Zn i,which resembles the trend of the ferromagnetic property of the corresponding samples.Therefore,it is deduced that the ferromagnetism observed in the studied samples originates from the interstitial defect of zinc(Zni) in the lattice of Co-doped ZnO.     

Influence of magnetic field sweep rate on the hysteresis loops of Ni0.8Fe0.2/Fe0.5Mn0.5 exchange bias bilayer

The influence of the magnetic field sweep rate on the hysteresis loops of exchange bias Ni0.8Fe0.2/Fe0.5Mn0.5 bilayers has been investigated with a vibrating sample magnetometer. It was found that the sweep rate of 13.6 kA/4πms is high enough to bring about obvious changes in the hysteresis loops of the exchange bias bilayer. High sweep rate in the magnetization reversal stage enlarges the coercivity of the sample, while high sweep rate in the saturation state reduces the coercivity. The above phenomena were attributed to magnetic viscosity in the ferromagnetic layer enhanced by the interface exchange interaction and domain magnetization reversals assisted by thermal fluctuation in the antiferromagnetic layer respectively.     

Dy2 AlFe13 Mn3 化合物的本征磁致伸缩

通过X-射线衍射及磁测量手段研究了Dy2AlFe13Mn3化合物的结构及磁性质。研究结果表明Dy2AlFe13Mn3化合物具有六角相的Th2Ni17型结构。通过X-射线热膨胀测定法发现Dy2AlFe13Mn3化合物在245到344K的温度范围内存在负热膨胀现象，其平均热膨胀系数为α＝-1.1×10-4K-1K-1。在105到360K的温度范围内，通过比较磁性状态下的晶胞参数和由高温顺磁状态外延得到的低温顺磁状态下的晶胞参数间的差别计算了Dy2AlFe13Mn3化合物的本征磁致伸缩。结果表明Dy2AlFe13Mn3化合物的本征体磁致伸缩ωS在105到245K的温度范围内随着温度的升高而增大，由105K时的7.0×10-3 增加到245K时的9.1×10-3。随着温度的进一步升高，ωS反而减小。沿c轴方向的本征线磁致伸缩λc随着温度的升高而减小。基面内的本征线磁致伸缩λa在105到270K的温度范围内随着温度的升高而增大，从105K时的0.8×10-3增大到270K时的3.4×10-3，然后随着温度的进一步升高而减小。     

The electric and magnetic properties of epitaxially grown A0.5-xLaxSr0.5MnO3 （A=Pr, Nd） thin film

The epitaxial （single crystal-like） Pr0.4La0.1Sr0.5MnO3 （PLSMO） and Nd0.35La0.15Sr0.5MnO3 （NLSMO） thin films are prepared and characterized, and the electric and magnetic properties are examined. We find that both PLSMO and NLSMO have their own optimum deposition temperature （To） in their growing into epitaxial thin films. When the deposition temperature is higher than To, a c-axis oriented but polycrystalline thin film grows; when the deposition temperature is lower than To, the thin film tends to be a-axis oriented and also polycrystalline. The most important point is that for the epitaxial PLSMO and NLSMO thin films the electronic phase transitions are closely consistent with the magnetic phase transitions, i.e. an antiferromagnetic phase corresponds to an insulating state, a ferromagnetic phase corresponds to a metallic state and a paramagnetic phase corresponds to a semiconducting state, while for the polycrystalline thin films the electronic phase transitions are always not consistent with the magnetic transitions.     

Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects in Tb6Co1.67Si3 compound

Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects of Tb₆Co_1.67Si₃ have been investigated by magnetization measurement. This compound is of a hexagonal Ce$_{6}$Ni$_{2}$Si$_{3}$-type structure with a saturation magnetization of 187\,emu/g at 5\,K and a reversible second-order magnetic transition at Curie temperature $T_{\rm C} = 186$\,K. A magnetic entropy change $\Delta S = 7$\,J\,$\cdot$\,kg$^{-1}$\,$\cdot$\,K$^{-1}$ is observed for a magnetic field change from 0 to 5\,T. A large value of refrigerant capacity (RC) is found to be 330\,J/kg for fields ranging from 0 to 5\,T. The large RC, the reversible magnetization around $T_{\rm C}$ and the easy fabrication make the Tb₆Co_1.67Si₃ compound a suitable candidate for magnetic refrigerants in a corresponding temperature range.     

Effects of charge on the structures and spin moments of Nil3 cluster

The structural stability and magnetic properties of the icosahedral Ni13, Ni13^＋1 and Ni13^-1 clusters have been obtained by utilizing all-electron density functional theory with the generalized gradient approximations for the exchange-correlation energy. The calculated results show that the ground states of neutral and charged clusters all favour a D3d structure, a distorted icosahedron, due to the Jahn-Teller effect. The radial distortions caused by doping one electron and by doping one hole are opposite to each other. Doping one electron will result in a 1/2 decrease and doping one hole will result in a 1/2 increase of the total spin. Both increasing interatomic spacing and decreasing coordination will lead to an enhancement of the spin magnetic moments for Nil3 clusters.