Exchange coupling and remanence enhancement in nanocomposite Nd–Fe–B/FeCo multilayer films

Nd–Fe–B-type hard phase single layer films and nanocomposite Nd₂₈Fe₆₆B₆/Fe₅₀Co₅₀ multilayer films with Mo underlayers and overlayers have been fabricated on Si substrates by rf sputtering. The hysteresis loops of all films indicated simple single loops for fixed Nd–Fe–B layer thickness (10 nm) and different FeCo layer thickness (d_FeCo=1–50 nm). The remanence of these films is found to increase with increasing d_FeCo and the coercivity decrease with increasing d_FeCo. It is shown that high remanence is achieved in the nanocomposite multilayer films consisting of the hard magnetic Nd–Fe–B-type phase and soft magnetic phase FeCo with 20 nm?d_FeCo?3 nm. The sample of maximum energy product is 27 MG Oe for d_FeCo=5 nm at room temperature. The enhancement of the remanence and energy products in nanocomposite multilayer films is attributed to the exchange coupling between the magnetically soft and hard phases.     

Magnetic properties,microstructure, and phase evolution of PrxFebal.TiyB20−x (x=4–9; y=2.5–5) nanocomposites

Magnetic properties, microstructure, and phase evolution of Pr lean and boron-enriched Pr_xFe_bal.Ti_yB_20−x (x=4–9; y=2.5–5) melt-spinning ribbons with nanostructures have been investigated. Based on thermal magnetic analysis (TMA), for y=2.5, two phases, namely Pr₂Fe₁₄B and α-Fe, were found for ribbons with x=9, while additional two metastable phases, Pr₂Fe₂₃B₃ and Fe₃B, existed for x=4, 7 and 8. With the decrease of Pr content, the remanence increases but coercivity decreases. The optimal properties of B_r=9.5 kG, _iH_c=10.7 kOe, and (BH)_max=17.8 MG Oe are achieved in Pr₉Fe_bal.Ti_2.5B₁₁ nanocomposites. On the other hand, higher Ti substitution for Fe in Pr₇Fe_bal.Ti_yB₁₃ ribbons could refine the grain size and suppress the metastable Pr₂Fe₂₃B₃ and Fe₃B phases effectively. The excellent permanent magnetic properties are mainly dominated by the nanoscaled microstructures and the coexistence of sufficient magnetically soft phases, Fe₃B, Pr₂Fe₂₃B₃ and α-Fe, with magnetically hard Pr₂Fe₁₄B phase.     

Effects of powder flowability on the alignment degree and magnetic properties for NdFeB sintermagnets

The magnetic powders for sintered NdFeB magnets have been prepared by using the strip casting (SC), hydrogen decrepitation (HD) and jet milling (JM) techniques. The effects of powder flowability and addition of a lubricant on the alignment degree and the hard magnetic properties of sintered magnets have been studied. The results show that the main factor affecting powder flowability is the aggregation of magnetic particles for powders in a loose state, but it is the friction between the powder particles for powders that are in a compact state. The addition of a lubricant with suitable dose can slightly prevent the congregating of powders, obviously decrease the friction between the powder particles, improve the powder flowability, and increase the alignment degree, remanence and energy product density of sintered magnets. Mixing a suitable dose of lubricant and adopting rubber isostatic pressing (RIP) with a pulse magnetic field, we have succeeded in producing the sintered NdFeB magnet with high hard magnetic properties of B_r=14.57 KG, _jH_c=14.43 KOe, (BH)_max=51.3 MGOe.     

Comparison of media properties between hard/soft stacked composite and capping layer perpendicular recording media

The effect of soft layer thickness (t_Soft) of CoTaZr–SiO₂ and low Pt-containing CoCrPtO layers on media properties in hard/soft (H/S) stacked media is compared to media properties in conventional capping layer (CL) media. Coercivity and coercivity squareness in H/S stacked media continuously decrease with increasing t_Soft, while they increase in CL media. H/S stacked media with CoTaZr–SiO₂ layers having higher saturation magnetization and in-plane magnetic anisotropy constant exhibit stronger demagnetization effect. Compared to CL media, H/S stacked media with CoCrPtO soft layers improve signal-to-noise ratio and magnetic write width. However, the use of a relatively soft layer deteriorates adjacent track erasure and does not improve media writeability due to compensation effect between softer and harder layers to be used. These phenomena can be understood as undesirable side effects of a soft layer: higher demagnetization field and larger lattice mismatch.     

Refinement of the microstructure and enhancement of the magnetic properties in α-Fe/(Nd,Dy)2Fe14B nanocomposite using the two-step annealing technique

The Nd_8−xDy_xFe_87.5B_4.5 (x=0–1.0$x=0–1.0$) nanocomposites have been prepared by melt spinning and subsequent two-step heat treatment technique. The crystallization behaviors, microstructures and magnetic properties of the samples have been investigated. The experimental results show that the crystallization temperature of α-Fe soft phase has no obvious change through Dy addition while the crystallization temperature of 2:14:1 hard phase increases remarkably with increasing Dy content. By adopting a two-step heat treatment technique, a finer and more uniform microstructure can be developed. A dramatic enhancement of remanence J_r from 0.84 to 1.1 T, coercivity H_cj from 417 to 520 kA/m and energy product (BH)_m from 76.8 to 110 kJ/m³ have been obtained in Nd₇Dy₁Fe_87.5B_4.5 (30 vol%α-Fe ) nanocomposite.     

Microscopic magnetic property of perpendicular magnetic films of DyxCo100−x measured using soft X-ray magnetic circular dichroism

We have carried out X-ray absorption measurements with its magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) of perpendicular magnetic films of Dy_xCo_100−x (15?x?33) at Dy M_4,5 and Co L_2,3 absorption edges to investigate electronic and spin states of the Dy 4f and Co 3d states, respectively. The replacement of major spin between Dy 4f and Co3d is clearly observed in the spectra between 20?x?25. The expected values of the orbital angular moment ∣〈L_z〉∣ of Dy 4f were estimated to be 1.4-0.8 μ_B while that of Co 3d was estimated to be around 0.2 μ_B.     

The existence of giant magnetocaloric effect and laminar structure in Fe73.5−xCrxSi13.5B9Nb3Cu1

Amorphous soft magnetic ribbons Fe_73.5−xCr_xSi_13.5B₉Nb₃Cu₁ (x=1–5) have been fabricated by rapid quenching on a single copper wheel. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) patterns showed that the crystallization temperature of α-Fe(Si) phase is ranging from 542 to 569 °C, a little higher than that of pure Finemet (x=0). With the same annealing regime, the crystallization volume fraction as well as the particle size of α-Fe(Si) crystallites decreased with increasing Cr amount substituted for Fe in studied samples. Especially, the interesting fact is that the laminar structure of heat-treated ribbons on the surface contacted to copper wheel in the fabricating process has been firstly discovered and explained to be related to the existence of Cr in studied samples. The hysteresis loop measurement indicated that there is the pinning of displacement of domain walls. The giant magnetocaloric effect (GMCE) has been found in amorphous state of the samples. After annealing, the soft magnetic properties of investigated nanocomposite materials are desirably improved.     

Effect of Zr Addition on Glass-Forming Ability and Magnetic Properties of Fe-Nd-Al-B Alloys Prepared by Suction Casting

The microstructure and magnetic behaviors of the Fe-Nd-Al-B alloys prepared by suction casting with zirconium addition are investigated. With the small amount of zirconium addition, the magnetic properties of the alloys change from hard magnetic property to soft magnetic property. The proper addition of Zr （6%） not only improves the glass forming ability, but also suppresses the crystallization. From the scanning electron microscopy of the [（Fe0.53Nd0.37 Al0.10 ）0.96B0.04]94Zr6 alloy and the local average elemental compositions determined using energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis, the amorphous phase with a composition of Fe47Nd38Al12Zra in the alloy can be observed. The bulk amorphous Fe47Nd38Al12Zr3 alloy is prepared by suction casting exhibiting good glassforming ability and soft magnetic behavior.     

First-order-reversal-curve analysis of Pr-Fe-B-based nanocomposites

Ribbons of nominal composition (Pr_9.5Fe_84.5B₆)_0.96Cr_0.01(TiC)_0.03 were produced by arc-melting and melt-spinning the alloys on a Cu wheel. X-ray diffraction reveals two main phases, one based upon α-Fe and the other upon Pr₂Fe₁₄B. The ribbons show exchange spring behavior with H_c=12.5 kOe and (BH)_max=13.6 MGOe when these two phases are well coupled. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the coupled behavior is observed when the microstructure consists predominantly of α-Fe grains (diameter ∼100 nm.) surrounded by hard material containing Pr₂Fe₁₄B. A first-order-reversal-curve (FORC) analysis was performed for both a well-coupled sample and a partially-coupled sample. The FORC diagrams show two strong peaks for both the partially-coupled sample and for the well-coupled material. In both cases, the localization of the FORC probability suggests demagnetizing interactions between particles. Switching field distributions were calculated and are consistent with the sample microstructure.     

Influence of eddy currents on magnetic hysteresis loops in soft magnetic materials

In this paper an attempt has been made to extend the Jiles and Atherton (J–A) quasi-static hysteresis model to describe magnetisation of a material with an alternating magnetic field. In low – industrial – and medium frequency of magnetic field it is possible to ignore the magnetic relaxation and resonance. The field penetration is assumed to be uniform through the material. The influence of eddy currents on the hysteresis loop could be considered and calculated using the method of successive reactions of eddy currents, where a reaction is an additional magnetic field, called reaction H_d, induced in the material by the eddy currents according to rot J=γ∂B/∂t where γ is the electrical conductivity. The reaction field H_d was added to the basic field H₀∝Iz_1, where I is the current intensity in the magnetising coil of z₁ number of windings. By solving the J–A equation for the magnetic field H_w=H₀+H_d it has achieved an extension of the hysteresis loop at an increased frequency of the current, caused by increased losses of the eddy currents. At the frequency f→0 Hz , the hysteresis loop approaches the shape of the quasi-static one.     

The effect of B2O3 addition to the microstructure and magnetic properties of Ni0.4Zn0.6Fe2O4 ferrite

The effects of 0.01 and 0.1 mol B₂O₃ addition to the microstructure and magnetic properties of a Ni–Zn ferrite composition expressed by a molecular formula of Ni_0.4Zn_0.6Fe₂O₄ were investigated. The toroid-shaped samples prepared by pressing the milled raw materials used in the preparation of the composition were sintered in the range of 1000–1300 °C. The addition of 0.01 mol B₂O₃ increased the grain growth and densification giving rise to reduced intergranular and intragranular porosity due to liquid-phase sintering. The sintered toroid sample at 1300 °C gave the optimum magnetic properties of B_r=170 mT, H_c=0.025 kA/m and a high initial permeability value of μ_i=4000. The increment of the B₂O₃ content to 0.1 mol resulted in a pronounced grain growth and also gave rise to large porosity due to the evaporation of B₂O₃ at higher sintering temperatures. Hence, it resulted in an air-gap effect in the hysteresis curves of these samples.     

Anisotropy at nano-grain boundary and effective anisotropy between magnetically soft and hard nano-grains

An expression of anisotropy at grain boundary suitable for different coupling conditions has been given, based on which the effective anisotropy between soft and hard grains 〈K_sh〉 has been calculated in nanoscaled magnetic materials. The results showed that 〈K_sh〉 increases rapidly first, then the increase becomes slow, and 〈K_sh〉 decreases with increasing D_s for the same value of D_h. 〈K_sh〉 decreases with increasing D_s for all given D_h, and the decrease rate becomes slow with increasing D_h. In order to obtain higher effective anisotropy between magnetically soft and hard grains, D_h should not be less than 25 nm, and D_s should be about 10 nm.     

Study of high-coercivity sintered NdFeB magnets

Magnetic powders for sintered NdFeB magnets have been prepared by using an advanced processing method including strip casting, hydrogen decrepitation, jet milling and rubber isotropic press. The effects of Dy, Ga and Co addition on the microstructure and magnetic properties of sintered magnets have been investigated. By adopting a suitable component ratio and adjusting proper technological parameters, we have prepared high-coercivity sintered NdFeB magnets with hard magnetic properties of _jH_c=25.6 kOe, B_r=13.2 kG and (BH)_max=39.9 MGOe. The temperature coefficient of coercivity of the magnets (between 20 and 150 °C) is –0.53%/°C. The magnetic properties at high temperature satisfy the needs of permanent magnet motors.     

Recent advances in studies of magnetically soft amorphous microwires

In this paper, we present the giant magneto-impedance (GMI) effect (real part of longitudinal impedance, Z, and of the off-diagonal impedance) and hysteretic magnetic properties of amorphous glass-coated microwires with different compositions possessing nearly zero, positive and negative magnetostriction constant and metallic nucleus diameter ranging between 6 and 16 μm. Enhanced soft magnetic properties (low coercivity of about 4 A/m) and high-GMI effect have been observed in Co-rich microwires with vanishing magnetostriction constant. The magnetic anisotropy field of these microwires depends on the ratio between metallic diameter, d and total microwires diameter, D. Stress-sensitive magnetic properties have been obtained in Fe-rich microwires after stress annealing: hysteresis loop stress-annealed (SA) microwires drastically changes under applied stress. A variety of hysteresis loops with different hysteresis loops can be obtained in Fe-rich microwires changing the conditions (time and/or temperature) of the stress annealing. The obtained results allow us to tailor the microwire magnetic properties for magnetic sensors applications through selection of their composition and/or geometry and by thermal treatment.     

Measurement and modelling of magnetic properties of soft magnetic composite material under 2D vector magnetisations

This paper reports the measurement and modelling of magnetic properties of SOMALOY^TM 500, a soft magnetic composite (SMC) material, under different 2D vector magnetisations, such as alternating along one direction, circularly and elliptically rotating in a 2D plane. By using a 2D magnetic property tester, the B–H curves and core losses of the SMC material have been measured with different flux density patterns on a single sheet square sample. The measurements can provide useful information for modelling of the magnetic properties, such as core losses. The core loss models have been successfully applied in the design of rotating electrical machines with SMC core.     

The role of short exchange length in the magnetization processes of L10-ordered FePt perpendicular media

A three-dimensional micromagnetic model with non-uniform grain size distribution has been built up to study the magnetization process in FePt L1₀ perpendicular media. A 3D model of a single FePt magnetic grain is also set up for comparison. The high magneto-crystalline anisotropy K_u results in a short exchange length l_ex in FePt nanograins. Therefore a magnetic grain is divided into smaller grids on the order of l_ex. The simulated perpendicular and longitudinal loops are consistent with experiments, and it is explained why the measured perpendicular H_c is relatively smaller compared with the saturation field of the longitudinal loop in the FePt perpendicular medium.     

Field effect on the dynamics of the Ising spin glass near the percolation threshold

The effect of a uniform field H on the dynamics of the Ising spin glass Fe_xZn_1-xF₂, x=0.25, is studied through Monte Carlo simulations. The correlation function data are consistent with the droplets picture, with a single scaling variable t/t_w, where t_w is the waiting time under H, activation over logarithmic energy barriers near the percolation threshold, x_p=0.24, and considerable change of the glassy phase for intermediate and high H.     

Characteristics of soft magnetic composite material under rotating magnetic fluxes

This paper reports the measurement of magnetic properties of the soft magnetic composite material SOMALOY^TM 500 in a square sample under different patterns of flux density with 2D magnetic excitations. The test system, principle of measurement, magnetic power loss calculation, and methods of correction for misalignment of H surface sensing coils are presented. The experimental results show that although nominally isotropic, the SOMALOY^TM 500 sample exhibits some anisotropy. The results are useful in the design and performance analysis of rotating electrical machines.     

The investigation of the process of magnetization in FeNiBSi glasses by means of the Barkhausen jumps

The Barkhausen jumps occuring during the magnetization of the amorphous Fe-Ni-B-Si alloys have been studied by the measurements of the derivative of magnetization with respect to time (dM/dt). The peaks in dM/dt vs. applied field (H) are reproducible after averaging over some fifty cycles of magnetization. The investigation of the variations of dM/dt with the applied field (H) and with the instantaneous magnetization (M) accompanied with the same studies, but performed starting from different values of the initial remanence (M_ri), completes our earlier analysis of the process of magnetization in these alloys. It is shown that the model of Chikazumi used for the explanation of the variations of remanent magnetization, coercive field and loss with the maximum magnetization (M_m) is consistent with the observed Barkhausen jumps. The possibility of separation of contributions from particular domain walls to the process of magnetization in soft magnetic materials (which would enable the determination of the locations and strengths of the particular pinning centres) is briefly discussed.