Interface reactions in [Fe/B]<Subscript>n</Subscript> multilayers: a way to tune from crystalline/amorphous layer sequences to homogeneous amorphous Fe<Subscript>x</Subscript>B<Subscript>100-x</Subscript> films

[Fe/B]_{n ≥2} multilayers were prepared by thermal evaporation, ion-beam sputtering and laser ablation. By applying in situ electron spectroscopies (UPS, XPS) and monitoring the electrical resistance during layer growth, evidence could be provided for the occurrence of interface reactions within the range of studied deposition temperatures (77 K ≤T ≤300 K). These reactions result in amorphous Fe_xB_100-x phases, which are spatially restricted to a width of less than 3 nm at the original interface. The amorphicity of the reacted interlayers was unequivocally proven by additional high-resolution electron microscopy (HRTEM) and their characteristically changed magnetic properties. Due to the well-defined width of the interface reaction, homogeneous amorphous Fe_xB_100-x films can be obtained by reducing the individual Fe and B layer thicknesses to below the above reaction depth, while for larger thicknesses layer sequences of the crystalline/amorphous/crystalline type will result. Received: 30 January 2002 / Accepted: 31 January 2002 / Published online: 10 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-731/502-2963, E-mail: hans-gerd.boyen@physik.uni-ulm.de     

Magnetic properties and magnetic entropy change of amorphous and crystalline GdNiAl ribbons

The structure and magnetic properties of amorphous melt-spun and subsequently crystallized GdNiAl ribbons were investigated. An amorphous phase was formed after the quenching process by melt spinning with a copper wheel having a surface speed of 30 m/s. A hexagonal phase with lattice parameters a=7.023 ? and c=3.916 ? was formed in the GdNiAl ribbon after annealing above its crystallization temperature. Magnetic entropy change was calculated directly from isothermal magnetic measurements. The results show that both the amorphous and annealed samples have a high magnetocaloric effect, indicating that these alloys can be considered as candidates for magnetic refrigeration applications. Received: 14 August 2001 / Accepted: 18 September 2001 / Published online: 23 January 2002     

150-times phase conjugation by degenerate four-wave mixing in a continuous-wave Nd:YVO4 amplifier

The high phase-conjugate reflectivity of 150, by four-wave mixing in a diode-pumped Nd:YVO₄, has been demonstrated. The phase-conjugate mirror was capable of correcting the phase aberration of a probe beam. The experimental diffraction efficiency of the transmission gratings was 60. Received: 8 April 2002 / Revised version: 10 June 2002 / Published online: 25 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +81/43-290-3490, E-mail: omatsu@image.tp.chiba-u.ac.jp     

Effect of hot deformation on texture and magnetic properties of Sm-Co and Pr-Co alloys

Nanocrystalline PrCo₅, SmCo₅ and Sm₂(Co,Fe,Mn)₁₇ alloys were subjected to a high-degree plastic deformation at 950 °C with the height reduction ranging from 70% to 95%. With increasing degree of deformation, the PrCo₅ and SmCo₅ magnets showed improvement of the deformation-induced [0 0 1] texture. The PrCo₅ alloys, known to develop a superior texture at the lower degrees of deformation, showed only modest improvement and their magnetic performance was undermined by a low coercivity. The SmCo₅ alloys had their texture markedly enhanced and, after height reduction by 94.5%, they exhibited a remanence of 8.6 kG, maximum energy product of 18 MGOe and an intrinsic coercivity of 22.8 kOe. No induced texture was found in the alloys based on the Sm₂Co₁₇ structure. The microstructures of the hot-deformed alloys were studied with a transmission electron microscopy, and possible mechanisms of the texture development in the RCo₅ alloys (R=Pr, Sm) are briefly discussed.     

Magnetic properties and grain-boundary structure transition of melt-spun (Sm0.12Co0.87Cu0.01)97(VC)3 under annealing

Effects of annealing treatment on the magnetic properties and microstructure of SmCo₇-based magnets doped with VC and Cu were investigated. The coercivity of the as-spun ribbons (Sm_0.12Co_0.87Cu_0.01)₉₇(VC)₃ was 3.6 kOe. It was increased to 7.3 kOe after annealing at 800 °C for 15 min. A fixed single 1:7H structure and regular 1:7H dendrite grains with long axes preferentially parallel to each other had been attained during rapid solidification and subsequent annealing treatment. However, TEM results revealed that there was grain-boundary phase rich in C and Cu besides 1:7H phase in the as-solidified ribbon. After annealing, the grain-boundary phase decomposed to Cu-, Sm- and C-rich intergranular phases. Cu-, Sm- and C-rich regions formed at the grain boundaries after annealing improved the coercivity of (Sm_0.12Co_0.87Cu_0.01)₉₇(VC)₃ by decreasing the magnetostatic interactions and act as effective domain wall pinning sites.     

Growth and morphologies of large-scale SnO2 nanowires, nanobelts and nanodendrites

Single-crystalline SnO₂ nanowires, nanobelts and nanodendrites were synthesized by a simple gas-reaction route on a large scale at 900 °C. They were characterized by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected-area electron diffraction (SAED). FE-SEM images showed that the products consisted of nanowires, nanobelts and nanodendrites that represent a novel morphology reported for the first time. XRD, SAED and EDS indicated that they were single-crystalline tetragonal SnO₂. The influence of experimental conditions on the morphologies of the products is discussed. Received: 3 June 2002 / Accepted: 10 June 2002 / Published online: 10 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: 86-10/82649531, E-mail: xlchen@aphy.iphy.ac.cn     

Microstructure and magnetic properties of a two-phase alloy of α-Fe and metastable Fe3B

Applying the hypercooling technique, the metastable-phase Fe₃B, instead of the stable-phase Fe₂B, is formed directly in the bulk Fe-B eutectic alloy melt and can be further preserved at room temperature. Measurement of magnetic properties shows that, for the bulk Fe-B eutectic alloy with Fe₃B phase, the intrinsic coercivity and retentivity become smaller, and the saturation magnetization is larger, than the stable eutectic alloy (α-Fe/Fe₂B) and some Fe-B amorphous alloys.     

Influence of stress relief on hysteretic magnetoimpedance in Co-rich amorphous ribbons at the relaxation frequency

The magnetoimpedance response shown by amorphous and nanostructured ultrasoft magnetic materials is a very promising effect suitable for application in a great variety of fields, as magnetic stress, strain or torsion sensors. However, magnetoimpedance hysteresis, which is related to irreversibilities in transverse magnetization processes, is an undesired effect for technological devices. Various thermal treatments were performed on Co-rich amorphous alloys to obtain quasi-reversible magnetoimpedance. Stress-relief-like treatments were found to reduce in a very significant way the hysteretic behaviour. Moreover, this improvement was analysed at the relaxation frequencies of the samples, where the magnetoimpedance has its maximum value. An attempt to understand the origin of this hysteresis reduction is given in this paper. The proposed explanation is based on the improvement of the reversibility in the magnetization processes, as a consequence of the decrease in the anelastic component of the induced anisotropy and the removal of wall pinning centres. Received: 2 October 2002 / Accepted: 7 October 2002 / Published online: 15 January 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +34-98/510-3324, E-mail: grande@pinon.ccu.uniovi.es     

Photoinduced linear and/or circular birefringences from light propagation through amorphous or smectic azopolymer films

The self-induced rotation of the azimuth of elliptically polarized light passing through birefringent azopolymer thin films is investigated. The experiments were carried out on thin films of the amorphous p(DR1M-co-MMA) and p(DR1M) azopolymer samples and of the p(6MAN) derivative in its glassy and liquid-crystalline phases. In fact, using various controlled input light ellipticities, linear birefringence (LB) and/or circular birefringence (CB) measurements were performed separately and in conjunction with polarization analyses of the transmitted pump beam. According to a general theoretical analysis based on Jones’ matrix formalism, it is thus shown that the induced rotation angle through the films depends mainly on the ellipticity of the input light, on the generated LB level and, to a lesser extent, on the CB photoinduced in the liquid-crystalline phase. In the latter case, it is concluded that irradiation with circularly polarized light does induce a chiral arrangement in the polymer film, although the photosensitive chromophores do not contain any optically active group. Received: 22 April 2002 / Revised version: 28 May 2002 / Published online: 25 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +33-5/5684-8402; E-mail: csouri@morgane.lsmc.u-bordeaux.fr     

Micrometer-sized Si-Sn-O novel structures with SiONWs on their surfaces

Novel micrometer-sized Si-Sn-O structures with SiO₂ nanowires (SiONWs) growing from their surfaces have been achieved at about 980 °C on Si (111) wafer catalyzed by Sn vapor generated from Sn powders. The Si wafer itself served as a silicon source in the reaction. The micrometer-sized structures, with diameters of several micrometers to several tens of micrometers consisted of Sn, Si and O. The amorphous SiONWs growing from the surface of the micrometer-sized structures were smooth, with diameters about 120 nm and with a composition close to that of SiO₂. The growth mechanism of these novel structures is discussed briefly. Received: 30 July 2002 / Accepted: 18 September 2002 / Published online: 4 December 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +86-551/5591434, E-mail: shsuncn@hotmail.com     

Large-scale synthesis of SnO2 nanobelts

Tin dioxide (SnO₂) nanobelts have been successfully synthesized in bulk quantity by a simple and low-cost process based on the thermal evaporation of tin powders at 800 °C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations reveal that the nanobelts are uniform, with lengths from several-hundred micrometers to a few millimeters, widths of 60 to 250 nm and thicknesses of 10 to 30 nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and selected-area electron diffraction analysis (SAED) indicate that the nanobelts are tetragonal rutile structure of SnO₂. The SnO₂ nanobelts grow via a vapor–solid (VS) process. Received: 3 June 2002 / Accepted: 10 June 2002 / Published online: 10 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +86-551/559-1434, E-mail: gwmeng@mail.issp.ac.cn     

A study on microstructure,magnetic properties and kinetics of the nanocrystallization of Fe40Ni38B18Mo4 metglass

This study has investigated the microstructure and magnetic properties of Fe₄₀Ni₃₈B₁₈Mo₄ at various degrees of crystallization from the amorphous state. TEM and XRD studies confirmed that phases forming after crystallization at temperatures around 414 and 522 °C were cubic (Fe, Ni, Mo)₂₃B₆ phase and FCC (Fe, Ni) solid solution. The growth behavior and morphology of the nanocrystalline phases have been studied as a function of time and temperature. Nanoparticles were lying in the size range of 10–20 nm and they were stable below 522 °C. Kissinger approach, Ozawa method and Yi Qun Gao method were employed to determine and compare the kinetic parameters of the crystallization processes. A growth mechanism of crystallizing phases was proposed on the basis of these results. Magnetic properties mainly coercivity and saturation magnetization of as-received and heat-treated samples were evaluated.     

Nonlinear electrical characteristics and dielectric properties of Ca,Ta-doped TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> varistors

Ca,Ta-doped TiO₂ varistors with high nonlinear coefficients are obtained by a ceramic sintering. The nonlinear electrical and dielectric properties of the samples doped with 0.5mol% Ca and various concentrations of Ta (0.05∼2.0mol%) were investigated. The samples sintered at 1350 °C have nonlinear coefficients of α=5.1∼42.1 and high relative dielectric constants approach 10⁵. The effects of Ta-doping on the nonlinear and dielectric properties of the Ca,Ta-doped TiO₂ varistors are studied in greater detail. When the concentration of Ta is 0.5mol%, the sample possesses the highest nonlinear coefficient and a comparatively lower dielectric constant. The effects of Ta and the nonlinear electrical behavior of the TiO₂ system are explained by analogy to a grain-boundary atomic defect model. Received: 24 October 2001 / Accepted: 8 January 2002 / Published online: 3 May 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +86-10/826-49531, E-mail: wangwanyan@yahoo.com.cn     

Crystallization and magnetic properties of melt-spun neodymium-iron alloys

The magnetic and crystallization properties of melt-spun Nd_1?xFe_x alloys are reported. By using high purity constituents and an extremely fine orifice (100–150 μm), amorphous alloys were prepared over the interval 0.4 ? x ? 0.8. Their magnetic properties, taken between 20–850 K in fields up to 95 kOe, are interpreted on the basis of a sperimagnetic structure; at high field the alloys from collinear ferromagnetic structures. Room temperature coercivities of the amorphous alloys are relatively low (1.5–2.0 kOe) but increase substantially at reduced temperatures; at 20 K, a maximum coercivity of 52 kOe was found for a Nd_0.4Fe_0.6 alloy. X-ray diffraction indicates that the melt-spun alloys crystallize by the precipitation of Nd metal and an unidentified Nd-Fe phase. Changes in magnetization and coercivity during crystallization are reported.     

Determining the spin polarization of surfaces by spin-polarized scanning tunneling spectroscopy

During the last few years, spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy has been developed as a reliable tool to image surface magnetic domain structures of bulk materials as well as thin films and nanostructured systems. In principle, this technique also allows for the determination of the energy-resolved spin polarization of the sample P_S(E) with nanometer resolution, information which might play a crucial role in understanding systems like, for example, non-magnetic adatoms on magnetic surfaces. A main problem in quantifying P_S(E), however, arises from the fact that, in contrast to planar junctions, the tip–sample distance generally varies with the magnitude and direction of the surface magnetization, since the distance is controlled indirectly by the tunneling current that is itself spin-polarized. We employ a simple model of the tunneling process to investigate this issue and show that a normalization of the dI/dU spectra with the total conductance I/U is insufficient to correct for their distance dependence. Received: 2 September 2002 / Accepted: 2 September 2002 / Published online: 5 March 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-40/42838-5311, E-mail: kubetzka@physnet.uni-hamburg.de     

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of magnetic films

Ta/NiO_x/Ni₈₁Fe₁₉/Ta films were prepared by rf reactive and dc magnetron sputtering. The exchange coupling field H_ex and the coercivity H_c of NiO_x/Ni₈₁Fe₁₉ as a function of the ratio of Ar to O₂ during the deposition process were studied. The composition and the chemical states in the interface region of NiO_x/NiFe were also investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and the peak decomposition technique. The results show that the ratio of Ar to O₂ has a great effect on the chemical states of nickel in NiO_x films. The exchange coupling field H_ex and the coercivity H_c of Ta/NiO_x/Ni₈₁Fe₁₉/Ta are thus seriously affected. XPS is shown to be a powerful tool for characterizing magnetic films. Received: 18 July 2001 / Accepted: 21 December 2001 / Published online: 3 June 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +86-010/6232-7283, E-mail: guanghua_yu@263.net     

A magnetic and Mössbauer study of melt-spun Nd60Fe30Al10

Nd₆₀Fe₃₀Al₁₀ alloys were rapidly quenched by the melt-spinning technique with different wheel surface speeds ranging from 5 to 30 m/s. The microstructure and the magnetic properties were strongly dependent on the quenching rate. A high quenching rate led to an amorphous structure with a low coercivity at room temperature, while a mixture of amorphous and crystalline phases was found after melt-spinning at 5 m/s, which exhibited hard magnetic properties at room temperature. For both the ribbons melt-spun at 5 and 30 m/s respectively, coercivity increased with decreasing temperature and reached a maximum at around 50 K. Maximum magnetization at 10 T increased dramatically at low temperature. Our magnetic study has shown that the presence of crystalline Nd was responsible for the increase of magnetization and the decrease of coercivity, as Nd became magnetically ordered at low temperatures. The Mössbauer study has shown that the magnetic microstructures of melt-spun ribbons were not uniform, as the spectra needed to be fitted by magnetic and non-magnetic components.     

纳米超微晶Fe73.5Cu1Mo3Si13.5B9合金显微结构和磁性的研究

对纳米晶Fe_73.5Cu₁Mo₃Si_13.5B₉合金的原始制备态和各退火态样品进行了室温Mossbauer谱研究,结果表明晶化态的合金存在α-Fe(Si)微晶相和晶界的非晶相。晶相和非晶相内场和面积随退火温度的变化是退火时Cu,Mo,B等成分的扩散和在各相中的再分配引起的。最佳磁性能对应非晶相中的铁量占合金铁总量的30％左右,超微晶合金的双相无规各向异性模型表明,一定量的非晶相对保持纳米晶优异的软 关键词：     

Magnetic properties of Ni:SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanocomposites synthesized by a modified sol–gel method

Ni nanoparticles embedded in an amorphous SiO₂ matrix were produced by a modified sol–gel method. This method resulted in nanocomposites with a controlled size distribution and good dispersion of the metallic particles. The particle-size distributions were found to have an average radius of ∼3 nm, as inferred from transmission electron microscopy, X-ray-diffraction analysis, and magnetic measurements. Magnetic characterizations revealed that samples exhibit superparamagnetic behavior above the blocking temperature T_B, 20 K≤T_B≤40 K, and absence of a shift along the field axis on hysteresis loops measured at T≤T_B, indicating that the metallic nanoparticles are also free from an oxide layer. Received: 7 October 2002 / Accepted: 9 October 2002 / Published online: 8 January 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +55-11/3091-6984, E-mail: rjardim@if.usp.br     

Spontaneous growth of arsenic oxide micro-crystals on chemically etched MnAs surfaces

Micrometer-size crystals are observed to grow spontaneously on chemically etched MnAs surfaces. The wet chemical etching leaves a nearly exclusive pile of amorphous arsenic on the surface when the MnAs layer is etched incompletely. Using Raman spectroscopy, we identify that these micro-crystals are the arsenolite crystal of arsenic oxides. The manganese in the MnAs layer is oxidized by the hydrogen peroxide in the etch solution to MnO₂, which then works as the catalyst for the rapid oxidation and crystallization of the amorphous arsenic. Received: 14 November 2002 / Accepted: 18 November 2002 / Published online: 29 January 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-30/20377-515, E-mail: takagaki@pdi-berlin.de