Magnetic and structural transition of Ni50+xMn25−x/2Ga25−x/2 (x=2–5) alloys

Magnetic and structural transitions of non-stoichiometric Ni_50+xMn_25−x/2Ga_25−x/2 (x=2–5) alloys are systematically investigated. Differential scanning calorimetry and modified thermogravimetry (TG) are used to measure magnetic and structural transitions simultaneously. The structural transition temperatures increase monotonically with increasing Ni substitution for Mn and Ga. Different magnetic transition sequences on heating were observed from ferromagnetic martensite to ferromagnetic autensite, then to paramagnetic autensite, from ferromagnetic martensite to paramagnetic austensite or from ferromagnetic martensite to paramagnetic martensite, respectively. Three kinds of NiMnGa alloys were obtained according to the sequence of the structural and magnetic transition, whose structural transition temperatures are lower, equal to or higher than the magnetic transition temperatures.     

Effect of electric current on the magnetic and magnetoelastic properties of amorphous ferromagnetic alloys

The magnetic and magnetoelastic parameters of Fe₆₄Co₂₁B₁₅ and Fe_81.5B_13.5Si₃C₂ amorphous ferromagnetic alloys treated by direct electric current in air are studied as functions of the applied magnetic field and current density. The samples of the alloy have the form of narrow strips with different lengths. It is found that the magnetoelastic parameters of the dc-treated alloys depend on the magnetic field in a qualitatively different way. From the behavior of the magnetic and magnetoelastic parameters of the alloys in the magnetic field a model of magnetization nonuniform distribution in amorphous ferromagnetic alloys subjected to dc treatment is proposed.     

Effective-medium approach for surface-localized magnetic polaritons in magnetic (ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic) superlattices

The general effective-medium dispersion relations are derived for surface-localized magnetic polaritons which propagate parallel to the surface between a superlattice and semi-infinite bulk material, as applied to ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic superlattices, in the situation when a static magnetic field is applied in the plane of the layers and parallel to the magnetization. The dependence of the energy of the surface waves on the volume fraction of the ferromagnetic superlattice component and the influence of the external magnetic field on the spectrum of the surface magnetic polaritons for the antiferromagnetic superlattice are investigated. The spectrum of the surface-localized magnetic polaritons which appear at the junction of the magnetic (ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic) superlattice with the magnetic material are more complex, in contrast to the cases of semi-infinite magnetic material or semi-infinite magnetic SL. It is essential that in all cases in the presence of the external magnetic field the spectrum of the magnetic polaritons are non-reciprocal. The properties of surface polaritons are discussed in detail for the system ferromagnetic superlattice (YIG/non magnet)/YAG and the antiferromagnetic superlattice (MnF₂/ZnF₂)/FeF₂.     

Electronic and magnetic structure studies of double perovskite Sr2CrReO6 by first-principles calculations

First-principles calculations have been performed to study the electronic band structure and ferromagnetic properties of the double perovskite Sr₂CrReO₆. The density of states (DOS), the total energy, and the spin magnetic moment were calculated. The calculations reveal that the Sr₂CrReO₆ has a stable ferromagnetic ground state and the spin magnetic moment per molecule is 1.0 μ_B, in good agreement with the experimental value. By analysis of the band structure, we propose that the ordered double perovskite Sr₂CrReO₆ is a strong candidate for half-metallic ferromagnet.     

First-principles study on the electronic structure and the ferromagnetic properties of the cyano-bridged bimetallic compound Mn2(H2O)5Mo(CN)7·4H2O (α phase)

First-principles calculations have been performed to study the electronic structure and the ferromagnetic properties of the cyano-bridged bimetallic compound Mn₂(H₂O)₅Mo(CN)₇·4H₂O (α phase).The calculations were based on density-functional theory and the full potential linearized augmented plane wave method (FP-LAPW). The calculated total energies revealed that the compound has a stable ferromagnetic (FM) ground state, which is in agreement with the experiments. The electronic structure of the compound has a half-metallic behavior. The calculated magnetic moment per molecule is about 15.000 μ_B, the magnetic moment are mainly from Mo and Mn atoms with d electronic configuration. It is also found that there exists ferromagnetic interaction between low-spin Mo²⁺ and high-spin Mn³⁺ ions through the Mo-C-N-Mn linear linkages.     

Half-metallic behaviour in doped TiO2 (rutile) with double impurities: ab initio calculation

Dilute magnetic oxides are without doubt among the most interesting classes of magnetic materials. However, the nature of their electronic structure and magnetic exchange is far from understood. Here, we apply the ab initio augmented spherical wave (ASW) method, with corrected generalised gradient approximation to study the electronic structure and magnetic properties of doped TiO₂ rutile with double impurities. The study reveals a half-metallic ferromagnetic behaviour for Ti_1?2x Cr _x Mo _x O₂, and the local magnetic moments of the impurities and their oxidation states agree with the charge transfer between Cr and Mo, which would lead to the ferromagnetic state through the double-exchange mechanism in transition metal oxides.     

Effect of magnetic annealing on magnetization of BiFeO3 ceramics

The effect of magnetic annealing treatment on the magnetization of multiferroic BiFeO₃ was studied systematically. A series of pelletized nano-sized BiFeO₃ powders were annealed at high temperature under different magnetic fields. Typical ferromagnetic hysteresis loops were obtained at room temperature of the ceramics which were derived from ferromagnetic BiFeO₃ precursors. On the other hand, antiferromagnetic behaviors were observed in other samples synthesized from nonmagnetic precursors. The enhanced magnetic properties were ascribed to the magnetic anisotropy which was induced by the strong magnetic fields. This work indicates that the strong magnetic annealing method is an alternative approach to tuning the magnetic properties of high performance multiferroic materials with canted antiferromagnetic ordering.     

Magnetic dynamics of phase separation domains in GdMn<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript> and Gd<Subscript>0.8</Subscript>Ce<Subscript>0.2</Subscript>Mn<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript> multiferroics

Specific features of the magnetic properties and magnetic dynamics of isolated phase separation domains in GdMn₂O₅ and Gd_0.8Ce_0.2Mn₂O₅ have been investigated. These domains represent 1D superlattices consisting of dielectric and conducting layers with the ferromagnetic orientation of their spins. A set of ferromagnetic resonances of separate superlattice layers has been studied. The properties of the 1D superlattices in GdMn₂O₅ and Gd_0.8Ce_0.2Mn₂O₅ are compared with the properties of the previously investigated RMn₂O₅ (R = Eu, Tb, Er, and Bi) series. The similarity of the properties for all the RMn₂O₅ compounds with different R ion types is established. Based on the concepts of the magnetic dynamics of ferromagnetic multilayers and properties of semiconductor superlattices, a 1D model of the superlattices in RMn₂O₅ is built.     

Vanadium sulfide nanoribbons: Electronic and magnetic properties

We report the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of zigzag-type 2H-VS₂ nanoribbons based on the first-principles calculations. Our results suggest that the zigzag-type 2H-VS₂ nanoribbons are intrinsic ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic materials dependent on their edge structures. The S-terminated VS₂ nanoribbons with or without hydrogen saturation at the edges are ferromagnetic, whereas V-terminated VS₂ nanoribbons are ferrimagnetic at their ground states. The average magnetic moment per V atom of VS₂ nanoribbons increases monotonously with their width, but still smaller than that of perfect VS₂ monolayer. These results imply the great potential of VS₂ nanoribbons in spintronics application.     

Pressure-Induced Decrease in the Curie Temperature of Gd<Subscript>2</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>17</Subscript>: LSDA+U Calculations

To explain the magnetic properties of advanced ferromagnetic intermetallic compounds of the R₂Fe₁₇ (R is a rare-earth element) class, experimentalists often use the hypothesis of competition between ferromagnetic exchange and antiferromagnetic exchange between four types of the nearest iron atoms in nonequivalent lattice sites. For the rhombohedral Gd₂Fe₁₇ ferromagnet, we calculate the magnetic moments of iron and gadolinium ions, the parameters of exchange between Fe atoms, and Curie temperature T_C at a zero pressure and during hydrostatic lattice compression. The magnetic moment of the unit cell of Gd₂Fe₁₇ is shown to decrease under pressure, and this decrease is almost completely associated with a decrease in the magnetic moments of Fe rather than Gd ions, the pressure dependence of the magnetic moments of which is weaker by an order of magnitude. In contrast to the hypothesis regarding the competition of exchange interactions between different kinds of Fe atoms, the parameters of exchange between the nearest iron atoms in different crystallographic sites are found to be positive ferromagnetic (at a zero pressure and during compression), and a ferromagnetic character of interaction is shown to remain unchanged under pressure even for Fe atoms in the so-called dumbbell sites with the nearest interatomic distances. The Curie temperature T_C of Gd₂Fe₁₇ is shown to decrease with increasing pressure. The changes in the exchange parameters and the magnetic moments of Gd₂Fe₁₇ during compression are found to be mainly related to a change in the position of energy spectrum branches with respect to each other and the Fermi level ?_F rather than to a change in the overlapping of wavefunctions, which play a minor role.     

Ab initio prediction of half-metallic ferromagnetism in Zn(TM)O2 (TM=Cr,Mn, Fe,Co, Ni) compounds

From the results of first principles tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbital (TB-LMTO) calculations, half-metallic ferromagnetism is proposed in Zn(TM)O₂ with a chalcopyrite structure. The calculated electronic and magnetic property shows that consistent with the integer value for the total magnetic moment, half metallicity is obtained for ZnCrO₂, ZnMnO₂, ZnFeO₂, ZnCoO₂ and ZnNiO₂. A careful analysis of the spin density reveals the ferromagnetic coupling between the p–d states and the cation dangling-bond p states, which is believed to be responsible for the stabilization of the ferromagnetic phase. The calculated heat of formation, bulk modulus and cohesive energy are reported.     

Theoretical study of magnetic ordering and electronic properties of AgxAl1−x N compounds

Ferromagnetic ordering of silver impurities in the AlN semiconductor is predicted by plane-wave ultrasoft pseudopotential and spin-polarized calculations based on density functional theory (DFT). It was found that an Ag impurity atom led to a ferromagnetic ground state in Ag_0.0625Al_0.9375N, with a net magnetic moment of 1.95 μ_B per supercell. The nitrogen neighbors at the basal plane in the AgN₄ tetrahedron are found to be the main contributors to the magnetization. This magnetic behavior is different from the ones previously reported on transition metal (TM) based dilute magnetic semiconductor (DMS), where the magnetic moment of the TM atom impurity is higher than those of the anions bonded to it. The calculated electronic structure band reveals that the Ag-doped AlN is p-type ferromagnetic semiconductor with a spin-polarized impurity band in the AlN band gap. In addition, the calculated density of states reveals that the ferromagnetic ground state originates from the strong hybridization between 4d-Ag and 2p-N states. This study shows that 4d transition metals such as silver may also be considered as candidates for ferromagnetic dopants in semiconductors.     

Magnetic excitation of ferromagnetic dimer molecules

The magnetic excitation in ferromagnetic dimer molecules was studied with using the local spin-density approximation. The equation of motion for the atomic magnetic moment was presented. To obtain adiabatic excited states, we implemented a penalty energy technique, which imposes a frozen spin configuration. Calculation conditions of the technique were examined. We applied the method to ferromagnetic dimer molecules, Fe₂, and estimated the magnetic excitation energy. We discussed the magnetic interaction between atoms with mapping the result onto the Heisenberg model.     

Coexistence of paramagnetism and ferromagnetism in Fe-TiO2 nanoparticle

Magnetic properties of pure and Fe doped rutile TiO₂ and TiO_2-ε are investigated using the first principle density functional theory. The results show that the considered systems are ferromagnetic. Furthermore, the origin of ferromagnetism is discussed and it is found that the double exchange and super-exchange are the main interactions in these compounds. Based on the calculations, the magnitude of the magnetic moment depends on the concentration of impurities and oxygen vacancies and the largest magnetic moment corresponds to the Fe_xTi_1-xO_2-ε. Moreover, using a model based on the bound magnetic polarons, the coexistence of ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases can occur in Fe_xTi_1-xO₂ containing different impurity ions such as Fe⁺² and Fe⁺³ with different Curie temperatures. The finding may presents the potential application of the considered system as diluted magnetic semiconductor.     

ESR study of magnetic structures in La0.7Ca0.3MnO3

Comprehensive measurements of electron spin resonance (ESR) and magnetization of La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ in the ferromagnetic as well as paramagnetic phases were carried out. Quantitative evidences for the inhomogeneous magnetic structure, consisting of ferromagnetic microregions embedded in the antiferromagnetic surrounding near T_c, were found. It is suggested that the microscopic local magnetic structures above and below T_c are qualitatively similar except that the phase below T_c carries long range order between the ferromagnetic microregions whose sizes grow with decreasing temperature.     

The special features of ferromagnetism in ordered Heusler alloys

The electronic structure and magnetic properties of the Cu₂MnA, Ni₂MnA, Pd₂MnA, Co₂MnA, and Fe₂FeA compounds with cubic lattices, where A is a nontransition element anion (A=Al, In, Ge, As, Sn, Si, or Sb), are studied. An analysis is performed in terms of the generalized Hubbard model with an infinite electronic repulsion energy within the same atom. Equations for determining the spin magnetic susceptibility of the compounds are obtained. These equations are used to determine the conditions of ferromagnetic instability and to construct the phase diagram for the existence of ferromagnetic ordering.     

Weak ferromagnetism in copper metaborate CuB2O4

CuB₂O₄ single crystals have been grown and their magnetic and resonance properties have been investigated for the first time. The temperature dependence of the susceptibility was found to contain features at T=21 and 10 K. The CuB₂O₄ single crystal transformed at T=21 K to a weakly ferromagnetic state. The sharp drop in susceptibility at T<10 K is caused by a transition of the magnetic system of CuB₂O₄ to an antiferromagnetic state. The effective magnetic moment of the Cu₂₊ ion, determined from the high-temperature part of the magnetic susceptibility, is 1.77 μ _B. The room-temperature g factors are, respectively, 2.170 and 2.133 for magnetic field parallel and perpendicular to the c axis of the crystal. The antiferromagnetic resonance parameters in the weakly ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases were measured. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 1267–1271 (July 1999)     

Spintronic properties of the Ti2CoB Heusler compound by density functional theory

The electronic structure and magnetic properties of the Ti₂CoB Heusler compound with a high-ordered CuHg₂Ti structure were investigated using the self-consistent full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FPLAPW) method within the density functional theory (DFT). Spin-polarized calculations show that the Ti₂CoB compound is half-metallic ferromagnetic with a magnetic moment of 2 μ_B at the equilibrium lattice constant, a=5.74 Å. The Ti₂CoB Heusler compound is ferromagnetic below the equilibrium lattice constant and ferrimagnetic above the equilibrium lattice constant. A large peak in majority-spin DOS and an energy gap in minority-spin DOS are observed at the Fermi level, yielding a spin polarization of 100%. A spin polarization higher than 90% is achieved for a wide range of lattice constants between 5.6 and 6.0 Å.     

Magnetic structure and phase diagram of Sr<Subscript>5</Subscript>Rh<Subscript>4</Subscript>O<Subscript>12</Subscript> frustrated Ising magnet

The magnetic structure of Sr₅Rh₄O₁₂ is based on Ising chains of rhodium ions with a variable valence, Rh³⁺-Rh⁴⁺. The ordering in the chains is assumed to be ferromagnetic. It has been shown that the magnetic structure and phase diagram of Sr₅Rh₄O₁₂ are well described in a model taking into account weak antiferromagnetic interactions between the nearest and next-nearest neighbors on the triangular lattice of ferromagnetic Ising chains. The ground state at low temperatures is the two-sublattice stripe phase; this phase in the magnetic field is transformed to the ferrimagnetic phase and, then, to the ferromagnetic phase. Small plateaus can be observed in the region of the transition from the ferrimagnetic phase to the ferromagnetic one.