Heat treatment effects in amorphous metals: Zr70Cu30 and La70Cu30

We measured the electrical resistivity (4–300 K), superconducting critical temperature and thermal conductivity (0.5–7 K) of the amorphous metals Zr₇₀Cu₃₀ and La₇₀Cu₃₀. Heat treatments below crystallization temperature induced changes in these properties. In particular, in the first stage of the annealing of Zr₇₀Cu₃₀ there are systematic changes in the thermal conductivity and the critical temperature, while the electrical resistivity remains constant. We show that there is no simple correlation between the thermal conductivity processes in the low temperature and plateau regions. We also show that the thermal conductivity of as quenched La₇₀Cu₃₀ is typical of amorphous metals, contrary to information previously reported.     

高矫顽力的Co70Cu30合金纳米线阵列的制备及磁性研究

利用直流电化学沉积法, 在多孔阳极氧化铝模板中首次制备出了具有[220]取向的单晶 面心立方结构的CoCu固溶体合金纳米线阵列, 其Co含量高达70%.透射电子显微镜显示纳米线均匀连续, 具有较高的长径比, 约为300. 磁性测量表明所制备的Co₇₀Cu₃₀ 合金纳米线具有超高的矫顽力H_c//=2438 Oe(1 Oe=79.5775 A/m)和较高的矩形比S//=0.76, 远高于以往报道的CoCu合金纳米线的磁性, 分析表明磁性好的主要原因是由于较高Co含量和高形状各向异性. 通过磁性测量和模型计算, 得到Co₇₀Cu₃₀ 合金纳米线阵列在反磁化过程中遵从对称扇型转动的球链模型, 并从结构的角度分析了Co₇₀Cu₃₀合金纳米线阵列的反磁化行为.     

Superconducting behavior of amorphous Zr70Cu30

Measurement of the Meissner penetration depth, λ(T) were made in amorphous Zr₇₀Cu₃₀ samples. The results indicate that this amorphous alloy behaves as a BCS superconductor with 2Δ(0)?kT_c = 3.8, where Δ(0) is the superconducting energy gap at T=0 and T_c the critical temperature. It is also concluded that the low energy excitation, TLS, characteristics of amorphous material does not contribute to T_c.     

Critical temperature and density of states in amorphous Zr70Cu30

By means of thermal heat treatment of amorphous Zr₇₀Cu₃₀ it is shown that the induced decrease in critical temperature is followed by a reduction in the electronic density of states of the same magnitude as that obtained by changing the Cu concentration. This result indicates that the density of states is the fundamental microscopic parameter determining the superconducting behavior.     

Magnetic and structural properties of the metastable alloy Mn1.11Al0.89

Magnetic and structural properties of the metastable Mn_1.11Al_0.89 alloy have been studied by neutron and X-ray diffraction and by differential scanning calorimetry.A strong influence of the magnetic long range order on the crystalline unit cell was observed, particularly in the vicinity of 370°C.In the vicinity of the Curie temperature the structural transition of the crystalline lattice is followed by the critical exponent β_r = 0.5 ± 0.1 of the disorder parameter.     

Electrical resistivity of amorphous Zr70Cu30 and the Kondo like model

Electrical resistivity measurements of amorphous Zr₇₀Cu₃₀ as a function of the concentrations of two level systems show that a Kondo like theory cannot explain the observed temperature dependence.     

Electron transport properties of amorphous Mg80.4Cu19.6 alloy

The Hall coefficient, thermoelectric power and electrical resistivity of the liquid quenched amorphous Mg_80.4Cu_19.6 alloy have been measured over a wide temperature range below room temperature. The 2k_F value deduced from the observed Hall coefficient agrees well with the free electron value. The thermoelectric power is positive and increases linearly with increasing temperature above approximately 180 K. The downward deviation is evident in the lower temperature range. This behaviour is in sharp contrast with the negative thermoelectric power observed in the amorphous Mg-Zn alloy. Nevertheless, the overall temperature variation of the electrical resistivity resembles the previously reported data of the amorphous Mg_72.5Zn_27.5 alloy in various aspects; (1) the room temperature resistivity value, (2) the negative TCR and its magnitude, (3) the appearance of a broad maximum at about 50 K and a minimum at about 10 K and (4) T²-dependence in the range of 10～30 K and $\text{-(T-T}{}_{\max }\text{)}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$-dependence in the range of 50～220 K. The results are discussed in connection with $\text{2k}{}_{\mathrm{F}}\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{P}}$ criterion and Mooij correlation.     

Surface normal regions in superconducting Zr70Cu30 induced by thermal relaxation

Penetration depth measurements show that thermal heat treatment in amorphous Zr₇₀Cu₃₀ induces a normal region 5000 Å thick at the surface of ultrarapid quenched ribbons. Upper critical field measurements indicate that the new induced phase is a normal one while the rest of the sample remains as a homogeneous superconducting phase.     

Magnetic and transport properties of single-crystal Yb3Cu4Ge4

The magnetic and transport properties of single-crystal Yb₃Cu₄Ge₄ with the Gd₃Cu₄Ge₄-type orthorhombic structure are presented. Magnetization along the b-axis at 2 K saturates to 2.8_μB/Yb$2.8{\mu }_{\mathrm{B}}/\mathrm{Yb}$ at 3 kOe, while that along the a- and c-axes at 2 K are gradually increasing to the value of 1.5_μB/Yb$1.5{\mu }_{\mathrm{B}}/\mathrm{Yb}$ and 0.39_μB/Yb$0.39{\mu }_{\mathrm{B}}/\mathrm{Yb}$ at 50 kOe, respectively. The electrical resistivity within the ab-plane shows a metallic behavior in contrast to a broad maximum at around 30 K for that along the c-axis. Each resistivity for the principal axis suddenly decreases below 8 K. The specific heat shows a λ-type$\lambda \mathrm{-}\mathrm{type}$ sharp peak at 7.8 K. The electronic specific heat coefficient is estimated to be 29.4 mJ/mol Yb K² by fitting the magnetic part of the specific heat below 3 K. The magnetic entropy released up to T_C is 68% of that of R ln 2, expected for the doublet ground state. It is revealed that Yb₃Cu₄Ge₄ is categorized to a weak heavy-fermion system showing a ferromagnetic transition at 7.8 K with uniaxial anisotropy along the b-axis.     

Superconducting properties of amorphous sputtered Zr70Mo30

Specific heat, resistivity and critical superconducting fields (H_c and H_c2) measurements show that amorphous Zr₇₀Mo₃₀ is an intermediate superconductor (T_c = 4.3 K; λ = 0.77). The coupling strength is mainly governed by the electronic properties. Like in the Zr?3d alloys previously investigated, a discrepancy between the measured and calculated upper critical field slope is reported. The effect of two-level systems (TLS) needs to be clarified.     

Model relating superconductive penetration depth and metallurgical phase separation in amorphous La70Cu30

A model is proposed to account for the large increase in the measured penetration depth of superconducting, amorphous La₇₀Cu₃₀ when the specimens are annealed sufficiently long near, but below, the crystallization temperature. It is suggested that a metallurgical phase separation occurs with domain dimensions in the submicrometer range. Penetration depth measurements as a function of temperature in a weak magnetic field are a useful tool to detect changes in phase separation in high-K materials.     

Thermal expansion property of anomalous magnetic alloy Fe70Al30

D0₃-type Fe₇₀Al₃₀ shows a transition from ferromagnetism to spin glass with anomalous slow spin dynamics below 170 K. Furthermore, it shows a structural transition from D0₃ to body-centered cubic (BCC) at 823 K. In this article, the relationship between the magnetic properties, thermal expansion coefficient (TEC), and crystal structure transition of D0₃-type Fe₇₀Al₃₀ is discussed. Below 170 K, TEC decreases with temperature, accompanied by a decrease in the Fe moments. In the ferromagnetic state between 170 K and the Curie temperature (T_C), TEC increases gradually with temperature. Above T_C, TEC increases rapidly. These temperature variations of TEC could be connected to the high-spin/low-spin transition and thermal spin fluctuations. During transition from D0₃ to disordered BCC at 823 K, TEC shows discontinuous behavior, similar to a first-order transformation. With further increase in temperature, TEC becomes constant. This implies that the phase transition from D0₃ to disordered BCC is accompanied by a change in spin fluctuation.     

Effects of nickel on the crystallization of Zr70Cu20Ni10 amorphous alloy

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) are employed to investigate the effects of nickel on the crystallization of the amorphous Zr₇₀Cu₂₀Ni₁₀ alloy. We have found that the crystallization process of the amorphous Zr₇₀Cu₂₀Ni₁₀ alloy is strongly influenced by the addition of nickel. Addition of 10 at% Ni to the Zr₇₀Cu₃₀ amorphous alloy makes the crystallization process proceed from a single-stage mode to a double-stage mode. The activation energy for crystallization of the amorphous Zr₇₀Cu₂₀Ni₁₀ alloy is calculated to be about 388kJ·mol^-1 on the basis of the Kissinger equation. The effects of nickel on the crystallization of the amorphous Zr₇₀Cu₂₀Ni₁₀ alloy are discussed in terms of the genetics of metals.     

利用Pr_(70)Cu_(30)晶界扩散改善烧结钕铁硼废料矫顽力的研究

钕铁硼磁体制备过程中出现的部分块体废料由于矫顽力较低,性能难以满足使用要求.本文主要通过晶界扩散技术来提高废料磁体的矫顽力.采用Pr_(70)Cu_(30)合金作为扩散介质,对烧结钕铁硼废料磁体进行了晶界扩散处理,研究了扩散温度、扩散时间和回火时间对扩散后的磁体性能的影响.结果显示,800℃下扩散3 h,磁体的矫顽力从原来的7.88 kOe(1 Oe=79.5775 A/m)提升至11.55 kOe,提升幅度为46.6%,同时剩磁没有明显降低.扩散后回火对矫顽力的提升有一定的作用.800℃下扩散4h后的磁体在500℃回火3h后,最高矫顽力可达11.97 kOe,比原磁体废料提高了51.9%,接近成品磁体的水平.显微组织分析证实了晶界扩散的作用.扩散处理后的磁体中,主相晶粒间形成了连续晶间相,起到有效的磁隔离作用,有利于矫顽力的提高.研究还发现,Pr_(70)Cu_(30)晶界扩散虽然可以使磁体腐蚀电位上升,但也会增加腐蚀电流密度,不利于磁体抗腐蚀性的改善.本文工作对于提高材料的成品率具有重要意义.     

Magnetic and transport properties of YBa2Cu3Oy superconductor foams

The recently reported superconducting YBa₂Cu₃O_y (Y123) foams are highly interesting and promising for variety of applications. In this report we present first magneto-transport measurements of the superconducting properties of these foams. The investigations reveal the superconducting properties being similar to those of bulk melt processed materials. The 123 foams reveal a T_c of 92 K and have a magnetization J_c of 40,000 A/cm² at 77 K and 0 T. The measurements of magnetic hysteresis versus field show a high anisotropy of the critical current density up to J_c^ab/J_c^c7.     

预退火时间对Fe_(80.8)B_(10)P_8Cu_(1.2)非晶合金微结构及磁性能的影响

研究了预退火时间对Fe_(80.8)B_(10)P_8Cu_(1.2)非晶合金微结构及磁性能的影响.穆斯堡尔谱研究表明:在660 K的预退火温度下,随着预退火时间的增加,Fe原子不断富集,非晶基体中的类Fe_3B化学短程有序结构向类Fe B结构转变,并且非晶基体中Fe第一近邻壳层中Cu原子的逐渐脱离以及Fe-P配位键数量的明显减少可间接表征CuP团簇的形成过程.同时,本研究通过调节预退火时间来调控非晶基体中CuP团簇和Fe团簇的数量,促进后续退火晶化过程中α-Fe纳米晶相的析出,并细化纳米晶尺寸,从而获得综合磁性能更加优异的非晶/纳米晶软磁合金.     

Recoilless fraction, structural, magnetic and thermal properties of Fe73.5Cu1Nb3Si13.5B9 alloy

Differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and room temperature Mössbauer spectrum measurements of Fe_73.5Cu₁Nb₃Si_13.5B₉ (Finemet) alloy have been carried out in order to study its structural and magnetic properties as a function of annealing temperature. The DSC profile of as-quenched Finemet showed two exothermic peaks at 530 and 702 °C, corresponding to two crystallization processes. The Finemet alloy remains amorphous at 450 °C with one broad peak in XRD pattern and one broad sextet in Mössbauer spectrum. When the Finemet alloy was annealed at 550 °C, only well indexed body-center-cubic phase was detected. After being annealed at 650 and 750 °C, the XRD patterns showed the coexistence of α-Fe(Si) and Fe-B intermetallic phases with the increase in XRD peak intensities, indicating the growth of crystallites and the decomposition of Fe_73.5Cu₁Nb₃Si_13.5B₉ alloy at elevated temperatures. The Mössbauer spectra of annealed Finemet alloy could be fitted with 4 or 5 sextets and one doublet at higher annealing temperatures, revealing the appearance of different crystalline phases corresponding to the different Fe sites above the crystallization temperature. The appearance of the nanocrystalline phases at different annealing temperatures was further confirmed by the recoilless fraction measurements.     

Magnetic and structural studies of the alloy system REIn0.5Ag0.5

The structural and magnetic properties of the alloy system REIn_0.5Ag_0.5 [RE = Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm and Yb] are reported. All these alloys (except that of Yb) crystallize in a cubic CsCl type structure at room temperature. Low temperature X-ray diffraction data does not reveal any structural phase transformation down to 8 K. On the basis of magnetic susceptibility data at a different temperature (3–300 K) and applied magnetic field (2 × 10⁵ to 8 × 10⁶ A m^-1, it has been concluded that GdIn_0.5Ag_0.5 is ferromagnetic (T_c = 118 K), TbIn_0.5Ag_0.5 and DyIn_0.5Ag_0.5 are meta magnetic (T_N = 66 and 30 K, respectively) and alloys involving Ho, Er, Tm and Yb are ferrimagnetic with Néel temperatures (T_N) equal to 24, 22, 21 and 20 K, respectively. The evaluated effective magneton number (p) is found to be slightly larger compared to theoretical values for tripositive ions of Gd, Tb and Dy and a bit smaller for Ho, Er, Tm and Yb. The results have been qualitatively explained using appropriate theories.     

Magnetic properties of Ni0.8Cu0.2−xGex solid solutions

The results of magnetic measurements performed on Ni_0.8Cu_0.2-xGe_x solid solutions, with x ? 0.10 are reported. The saturation magnetization, Curie temperature and effective nickel moments decrease nearly linear when substituting Cu by Ge. The ferromagnetic resonance measurements show that the g values are not dependent on composition. Finally, the magnetic behaviour of nickel in these solid solutions is analysed.