Domain imaging in FINEMET ribbons

The magnetization behaviour of a ferromagnetic material depends on its domain structure, which in turn is largely determined by magnetic anisotropies. In this work, domain patterns were observed by a quite forgotten but still the simplest and the cheapest technique: the Bitter method. A systematic study of the evolution of the domain structure in FINEMET ribbons after thermal annealing is presented, correlating the results with the crystalline structure, magnetostriction and coercivity measurements.     

Structural characterization and magnetoimpedance effect in amorphous and nanocrystalline AlGe-substituted FeSiBNbCu ribbons

Two series of rapidly solidified FINEMET (Fe_73.5Si_13.5B₉Nb₃Cu₁) alloys with and without partial substitution of Al (1.5 at%)/Ge (1 at%) were prepared by melt-spinning technique. The nanocrystallization process was carried out by the heat treatment of the as-spun ribbons at 560 °C for 1 h in a vacuum furnace. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), Mössbauer spectroscopy, and magnetoimpedance (MI) measurements were conducted on the as-quenched and heat-treated alloys to investigate their structural and magnetic properties. The average crystallite sizes obtained for the heat-treated samples were in the range of 10–12 nm as confirmed by our XRD and TEM data. The ultrasoft magnetic behavior observed for the Al/Ge-substituted nanocrystalline alloys was confirmed both by our magnetic data and magnetoimpedance ratio (MIR%) results. A twofold increase in the magnitude of the MIR% (99%) was observed for the Al/Ge-substituted nanocrystalline alloy against that of the pure FINEMET alloy (∼48%) measured at 5.5 MHz. This is believed to be related to the decrease of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy as well as magnetostriction decline due to the Al substitution for Fe atoms in this nanostructured alloy.     

Comparison of the soft magnetic properties of permalloy and conetic thin films

The soft magnetic properties of the substrate/[non-buffer or buffer Ta]/[permalloy (Ni₈₀Fe₂₀) or conetic (Ni₇₇Fe₁₄Cu₅Mo₄)]/Ta prepared by ion beam sputter deposition are investigated. The value of the surface resistance of the conetic film is twice as high as that of the permalloy film. The value of the coercivity and magnetic susceptibility of the conetic film decreased by 25% and doubled relative to that of the permalloy film. The coercivity, with a value of 0.12 Oe, and the magnetic susceptibility, with a value of 1.2×10⁴ for the conetic film, are suitable for soft magnetic biosensor applications.     

Angular dependence of the coercivity and remanence of ordered arrays of Co nanowires

The angular dependence of the coercivity and remanence of ordered hexagonal arrays of Co nanowires prepared using anodic aluminum oxide templates was investigated. The experimental evolution of coercivity as a function of the angle, in which the external field is applied, is interpreted considering micromagnetic simulations. Depending on the angle between the axis of the wire and the applied magnetic field direction our results show that the magnetization reversal mode changes from vortex to a transverse domain wall. Besides, we observed that the dipolar interactions cause a reduction in coercive fields, mainly in the direction of easy magnetization of the nanowires. Good agreement between numerical and experimental data is obtained.     

Magnetic properties of soft magnetic composites prepared with crystalline and amorphous powders

Physical properties of soft magnetic composites prepared with a mixture of amorphous (FeSiBC) and crystalline (Fe) powders coated with distinct electrical insulator contents are reported. Density, saturation polarization, permeability and coercivity of the cores reduce linearly with the increase of the softer magnetic phase amount and a general relation can be expressed by a rule of mixtures. The behavior of the coercivity, as a function of the magnetic phase content, differs from that previously reported for magnetic composites prepared with equal amounts of magnetic and non-magnetic phases. For frequencies upto 1 kHz the magnetic losses of the cores are constant, following the same behavior of the coercivity. A qualitative explanation of the behavior of the latter is addressed based on an expression applicable for crystalline and amorphous materials.     

Magnetization reversal process and intrinsic coercivity of sputtered Sm2Co17-based films

The Sm₂Co₁₇-based intermetallic films with additives of Fe, Cu, and Zr have been deposited on Si(1 0 0) substrates by dc magnetron sputtering process. Subsequent thermal treatment and the film thickness are found to have significant contribution to the crystal structure and grain structure, which determines the magnetization reversal process and intrinsic coercivity (H_C) of these films. The conventional thermal annealing (CTA) treatment almost failed to crystallize the as-deposited films, leading to a very low H_C. Continuous and homogeneous domain walls cannot form in this deteriorated microstructure, so that the pinning mechanism can be excluded. Contrarily, the films with thickness exceeding 0.8 μm treated by rapid recurrent thermal annealing (RRTA) show an improved H_C, which is attributed to the observed completed crystallization and compact microstructure. It is suggested that this film structure is responsible for providing continuous and homogeneous domain walls, leading to a magnetization reversal process controlled by domain wall pinning model. In special, the H_C of the RRTA-treated film with thickness of 1.8 μm shows a good temperature dependence from 25 to 300 °C, with intrinsic coercivity temperature coefficient β of −0.23%/°C.     

Structural and magnetic properties of holmium substituted cobalt ferrites synthesized by chemical co-precipitation method

CoHo_xFe_2−xO₄ ferrites (x=0.00–0.1) were prepared by the co-precipitation technique and the effect of holmium substitution on the magnetic properties was investigated. X-ray diffraction reveals that the substituted samples show a second phase of HoFeO₃ along with the spinel phase. The magnetic properties such as the saturation magnetization (M_s), coercivity (H_c) and remanence (M_r) are obtained from the hysteresis loops. It is observed that the M_s decreases while H_c increases with Ho³⁺ substitution. The decrease of saturation magnetization is attributed to the weakening of exchange interactions. The coercivity increases with increase of the Ho³⁺ concentration, which is attributed to the presence of an ultra-thin layer at the grain boundaries that impedes the domain wall motion. Low field AC susceptibility was also measured over the temperature range 300–600 K at the frequency of 200 Hz. It decreases with the increase of temperature following the Curie–Weiss law up to the Curie temperature. Above the Curie temperature it shows paramagnetic behavior. The increase in coercivity suggests that the material can be used for applications in perpendicular recording media.     

Influence of Al and Ni on the magnetic properties of Finemet alloys

Crystallization behavior and soft magnetic properties of the FeSiBCuNbM (M=Al or Ni) Finemet alloys are investigated by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, hysteresis loop tracer, and vibrating sample magnetometry. The nanocrystalline alloys are prepared by annealing melt-spun amorphous ribbons at different temperatures. Results indicate that the partial substitution of Ni or Al for Nb results in the increase of saturation magnetic induction density (B_s) of the alloys. The alloys with Al or Ni show favorable combination of soft magnetic properties. The partial substitution of Ni for Nb enhances the B_s value, while Al decreases coercivity. The mechanism underlining the magnetic behavior is discussed.     

Preparation of hard magnetic materials in thin film form

We report on the preparation, by means of pulsed laser ablation deposition, of trilayers of nominal composition Cr/SmCo₅/Cr//Si with thicknesses in the order of 250/240/125 nm, respectively. According to the results of the structural, chemical and magnetic characterizations performed in our as-deposited samples, the Sm–Co layer was structurally amorphous, exhibited abrupt compositional interfaces with the capping and buffering layers, and coercivities of a few hundreds of Oe. Magnetic hardness was developed upon submitting the samples to current anneals under vacuum at temperatures in the range of 540–670 °C. The hardening process was followed in detail by correlating the phase distribution, the nature of the interlayer atomic diffusion processes, the occurrence of textures and the temperature dependence of the coercive force. From our results we conclude about (i) the occurrence of a large degree of Co diffusion/segregation, which results in the detection, from the diffraction and magnetometric results, of the presence of CoCr alloys in the treated samples, and (ii) the close correlation, evidenced from the fits of the temperature dependence of the coercive force to the micromagnetic model, between the coercivity optimization and the crystallinity enhancement of the SmCo₅ grains.     

Ultra large coercivity in barium ferrite thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering

Hexagonal barium ferrites were deposited onto sapphire substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The composition, microstructure, and magnetic properties of these isotropic thin films were investigated with Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, magnetic force microscopy and SQUID magnetometry. The intrinsic coercivity of the films reaches about 11.5 kOe at room temperature. The mechanism of the coercivity is proposed to be nucleation in the decoupled single domain nanometer particles as shown by the characteristics of the magnetic domains and the virgin magnetization curves.     

In-plane magnetic anisotropy and coercive field dependence upon thickness of CoFeB

The structural and magnetic properties of as-grown 5–50 nm thin ion-beam sputter deposited transition metal–metalloid Co₂₀Fe₆₀B₂₀ (CFB) films are reported in this communication. A broad peak observed at 2θ∼45° in the glancing angle X-ray diffraction pattern revealed the formation of very fine nano-sized grains embedded in majority amorphous CFB matrix. Although no magnetic field is applied during deposition, the longitudinal magneto-optic Kerr effect measurements performed at 300 K in these as-grown films clearly established the presence of in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy (K_u). It is argued that this observed anisotropy is strain-induced. This is supported by the observed dependence of direction of K_u on the angle between applied magnetic field and crystallographic orientation of the underlying Si(100) substrate, and increase in the coercivity with the increase of the film thickness.     

Magnetic properties of iron-based soft magnetic composites with MgO coating obtained by sol-gel method

Soft magnetic composites with a thin MgO insulating layer were produced by a sol-gel method. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, density measurement and compositional maps confirmed that thin layers of MgO covered the iron powders. Coercivity measurement showed that the stress relaxation and reduction of hysteresis loss efficiently occurred at 600 °C. At this temperature, the phosphate insulation of commercial SOMALOY^TM samples degrade and their electrical resistivity, magnetic permeability and operating frequency decreases noticeably. The results show that the MgO insulation has a greater heat resistance than conventional phosphate insulation, which enables stress-relief at higher temperatures (600 °C) without a large increase in eddy current loss. The results of annealing at 600 °C show that the electrical resistivity and ferromagnetic resonance frequency increased from 11 μΩ m and 1 kHz for SOMALOY^TM samples to 145 μΩ m and 100 kHz for the MgO insulated composites produced in this work.     

Enhancement of coercivity with reduced grain size in CoCrPt film grown by pulsed laser deposition

We report a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) growth of VMn/CoCrPt bilayer with a magnetic coercivity (H_c) of 2.2 kOe and a grain size of 12 nm. The effects of VMn underlayer on magnetic properties of CoCrPt layer were studied. The coercivity, H_c, and squareness, S, of VMn/CoCrPt bilayer, is dependent on the thickness of VMn. The grain size of the CoCrPt film can also be modified by laser parameters. High laser fluence used for CoCrPt deposition produces a smaller grain size. Enhanced H_c and reduced grain size in VMn/CoCrPt is explained by more pronounced surface phase segregation during deposition at high laser fluence.     

Enhanced coercivity of melt-spun Sm(Co,Fe,Cu,Zr)z ribbons annealed by improved process

The effects of conventional thermal annealing (CTA), rapid thermal annealing (RTA) and rapid recurrent thermal annealing (RRTA) on coercivity of the melt-spun Sm(Co_0.6Fe_0.27Cu_0.1Zr_0.03)_7.5 ribbons were systematically studied. The results show that the annealing parameters greatly affect the coercivity of the ribbons. The optimum coercivity is 9.8, 8.9 and 10.2 kOe for the CTA-treated, RTA-treated and RRTA-treated ribbons, respectively, indicating that the coercivity is not enhanced only by elevating the heating rate. Nevertheless, the coercivity increases to 15.1 kOe for the RRTA-treated ribbons when the cooling rate decreases to 1 °C/min.     

Angular dependence of coercivity and remanence of Ni nanowire arrays and its relevance to magnetoviscosity

Ni nanowire arrays with varying wire dimensions (diameter d, length l) and center-to-center distances d_CC were synthesized by pulsed electrodeposition of Ni in porous Al templates. The magnetization-reversal behavior of the arrays was investigated by means of magnetometry for different angles θ between the wire axes and the applied magnetic field. The functional dependences of the characteristic parameters coercivity H_C(θ) and reduced remanence m_R/m_S(θ) exhibit a strong dependence on the wire dimensions and the center-to-center distance. For instance, for nanowire arrays with d=40 nm, d_CC=100 nm, and for θ=0°, the coercivity takes on a rather large value of μ₀H_C=85 mT and m_R/m_S≅94%; reducing d_CC to 30 nm and d to 17 nm results in μ₀H_C=49 mT and m_R/m_S≅57%, an observation which suggests an increasing magnetostatic interwire interaction at increased (d/d_CC)-ratio. The potential application of nanowires as the constituents of ferrofluids is discussed.     

晶粒间界相及结构缺陷对HDDR 粘结磁体矫顽力的影响

本文根据氢化／歧化／脱氢／重组（HDDR）Nd-Fe-B 磁粉晶粒边界微结构的特点,建立了缺陷区内的磁晶各向异性常数K1´及交换积分常数A1´的双变量连续变化模型,研究了晶粒间界相厚度d及晶粒表面结构缺陷厚度r0对磁体矫顽力的影响。结果表明：晶粒表面各向异性常数K1(0)、交换积分常数A1(0)及r0取不同值时,磁体的矫顽力Hc均随d增加而增大。K1(0)和A1(0)取确定值时,相同的d值对应的Hc随r0的增大而上升。r0和d取确定值时,Hc随K1(0)或A1(0)的减小而增大。当d 为1nm,r0 在 (2~5) nm范围内,A1(0)和K1(0)的值分别在A1和K1值的(0.6~0.7)范围内变动时,计算的矫顽力与实验值符合得很好。     

晶粒间界相及结构缺陷对HDDR 粘结磁体矫顽力的影响

本文根据氢化／歧化／脱氢／重组（HDDR）Nd-Fe-B 磁粉晶粒边界微结构的特点,建立了缺陷区内的磁晶各向异性常数K1´及交换积分常数A1´的双变量连续变化模型,研究了晶粒间界相厚度d及晶粒表面结构缺陷厚度r0对磁体矫顽力的影响。结果表明：晶粒表面各向异性常数K1(0)、交换积分常数A1(0)及r0取不同值时,磁体的矫顽力Hc均随d增加而增大。K1(0)和A1(0)取确定值时,相同的d值对应的Hc随r0的增大而上升。r0和d取确定值时,Hc随K1(0)或A1(0)的减小而增大。当d 为1nm,r0 在 (2~5) nm范围内,A1(0)和K1(0)的值分别在A1和K1值的(0.6~0.7)范围内变动时,计算的矫顽力与实验值符合得很好。     

Studies of magnetic properties of permalloy (Fe-30%Ni) prepared by SLM technology

In the present study, a high permeability induction Fe-30%Ni alloy cubic bulk was prepared by the selective laser melting process. In order to reveal the microstructure effect on soft magnetic properties, the microstructure and magnetic properties of the Fe-30%Ni alloy were carefully investigated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and hysteresis measurements. The bcc-Fe (Ni) phase formation is identified by X-ray diffraction. Meanwhile, it was found that low bcc lattice parameter and high grain size could be obtained when high laser scanning velocity and low laser power were used. Moreover, the lowest value of coercivity is 88 A/m, and the highest value of saturation magnetization is 565 Am²/kg, which can be obtained at a low laser scanning velocity of 0.4 m/s and high laser power input at 110 W.     

The correlations between processing parameters and magnetic properties of an iron–resin soft magnetic composite

In this study, internal microstrain of an iron–resin composite produced by powder metallurgy has been calculated using the Williamson–Hall method. The effects of microstrain evolution during different processing conditions on magnetic properties such as coercive force and hysteresis loss have been investigated. The results show that there are regular and similar changes of coercivity and hysteresis loss. Both of these properties are directly dependant on the pinning effect of the internal microstrain against the movement of magnetic domain walls during magnetization process.     

High coercivity FePt-C bulk magnet processed by spark plasma sintering and hot deformation

A high coercivity of 11 kOe has been obtained in spark plasma sintered and hot-deformed Fe₅₃Pt₄₄C₃ bulk magnets. The origin for the high coercivity has been investigated using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The average grain size of the ordered phase was ∼100 nm, which is less than the single domain size of the L1₀-FePt phase. Fe₃C particles were found surrounding the L1₀-FePt grains, which suppress the grain growth. The L1₀ ordering is also found to increase in hot-deformed sample by annealing in a magnetic field of 10 T at 600 °C.