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The results of direct studies of the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of the Ni47Mn40Sn12.5Cu0.5 Heusler alloy in cyclic magnetic fields are presented. It is shown that in cyclic magnetic fields, the MCE value near the magnetostructural phase transition depends on the rate of temperature scanning. A higher rate of change in the sample temperature causes the MCE to have a greater value. The observed effect is explained by irreversible phase transition, induced by a magnetic field, from a low-symmetry martensitic phase to a high-symmetry austenitic phase. Moreover, it is observed only within the temperature hysteresis loop of the magnetostructural phase transition. Such materials, despite the considerable MCE values under a single application of the magnetic field, are unpromising due to a strong change in the magnetocaloric properties in cyclic magnetic fields.

Permeability spectra and asymmetrical giant magnetoimpedance (AGMI) have been studied in a Co-based amorphous microwire upon the application of a dc biasing current together with a shift of axial hysteresis loops. The permeability from wall motion of core domains is nearly constant, but the permeability from rotational magnetization of shell domains increases with the bias current. AGMI and its field sensitivity are realized for the bias current due to the influence of a unidirectional bias field on wall motion in the circumferential direction. In addition, helical internal anisotropy in this microwire also plays a significant role in responding differently to the axial magnetization process and thus to AGMI. The helical residual stress is estimated to be smaller in Co-based amorphous wire than that in Fe-based amorphous wire.

The complex susceptibility spectra are measured as functions of the alternating-current field amplitude and the torsion angle in an Fe77.5Si7.5B15 amorphous wire. The susceptibility spectra show dispersion with a relaxation frequency of 40 kHz due to irreversible motion of the inner core domain walls when the driving field is larger than the threshold field of 10 mOe. The spectra for a small driving field can be decomposed into two relaxation dispersions by using the nonlinear curve fitting, one originating from reversible wall motion of the inner core domains and with a relaxation frequency of 0.36 MHz, and the other originating from reversible magnetization rotation in the outer shell domains and with relaxation frequency of 1.82 MHz. The static susceptibilities resulting from the reversible and the irreversible magnetization processes show an asymmetric change with positive and negative torsion angles.

The flux pinning force in a Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3Oy high Tc superconductor was obtained from the angular dependence of magnetization of the sample in fields from 150 to 1000 Oe at 80 K. The pinned fluxoid rotates with the sample like a rigid body at low fields. With further increase in the magnetic field H, the angular dependence of field‐cooled magnetization disappears gradually above a critical rotation angle δ. This feature has been analyzed by the balance of two different kinds of opposing torques acting on the flux lines. Flux pinning force per unit length calculated from the torque balance under the external fields between 150 and 1000 Oe is about 10−3 dyn/cm at 80 K.

with a first-order phase transition (FOPT), we show that it is possible to construct a universal master curve to describe the temperature dependence of magnetic entropy change DSM(T )i n different applied fields without rescaling the temperature axis for IMCE associated with FOPT. This universal behavior is shown to be different from that observed for CMCE associated with a second-order phase transition. The proposed universal curves provide an effective method of extrapolating DSM of materials associated with CMCE and IMCE in any range of temperatures and magnetic fields, giving useful guidance on the development of active magnetic refrigerants. V C 2013 AIP Publishing LLC .[ http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4825166]

Though ZnO is known as a diamagnetic material, recent studies have revealed that its nanostructures can be ferromagnetic (FM). The FM origin has been ascribed to intrinsic defects. This work shines light on an alternate method based on mechanical milling to induce defect-related ferromagnetism in ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) from initial diamagnetic ZnO powders. Our idea is motivated by the fact that mechanical milling introduces more defects to a ground material. We point out that the FM order increases with increasing the density of defects in ZnO NPs. The experimental results obtained from analyzing X-ray absorption, electron spin resonance, and Raman scattering spectra demonstrate that the ferromagnetism in ZnO NPs is due to intrinsic defects mainly related to oxygen and zinc vacancies. Among these, zinc vacancies play a decisive role in introducing a high FM order in ZnO NPs.

Understanding the impact of reduced dimensionality on the magnetic and magnetocaloric responses of a material is vital in incorporating it as an active magnetic refrigerant in cooling devices. By contrasting the magnetic and magnetocaloric behaviors of bulk polycrystalline, sol-gel derived nanocrystalline, and pulsed laser deposited thin film forms of the La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 system, we show that reducing the dimensionality of a ferromagnetic material tends to broaden and shift the paramagnetic to ferromagnetic transition to lower temperatures, while decreasing the saturation magnetization and the magnitude of the magnetic entropy change. Relative to its bulk counterpart, a pronounced broadening of the magnetic entropy change peak in the thin film leads to enhanced refrigerant capacity—an important figure-of-merit for active magnetic refrigeration technology. With reduced dimensionality, universal curves based on re-scaled entropy change curves tend toward collapse, indicating a weakening of the first order nature of the transition in the nanocrystalline samples and a crossover to second order in the thin film.

A systematic study of the conventional and inverse magnetocaloric effects and critical behaviors in Ni50Mn50−xSnx (x = 13 and 14) alloy ribbons has been performed. We show that although the magnetic entropy change around the second-order ferromagnetic-paramagnetic (FM-PM) transition (ΔSm ≈ −4 J/kg K) in the austenitic phase is about five times smaller than that around the first-order martensitic-austenitic (M-A) transformation (ΔSm ≈ 22 J/kg K), the refrigerant capacity (RC) – an important figure of merit – is about two times larger for the former case (RC ≈ 160 J/kg) than for the latter case (RC ≈ 75 J/kg). This finding points to an important fact that to assess the usefulness of a magnetocaloric material, one should not only consider ΔSm but also must evaluate both ΔSm and RC. Our critical analysis near the second-order FM-PM transition reveals that Sn addition tends to drive the system, in the austenitic FM phase, from the short-range (x = 13) to long-range (x = 14) FM order.

We investigated a forced oscillation motion of a magnetic vortex structure on a ferromagnetic nanodisk under an alternating-current (AC) external magnetic field using micromagnetic simulations. With variations of the AC field amplitude and the frequency, it has been revealed that the forced oscillation motion could become nonlinear and significantly deviated from the description of the original Thiele’s equation. We propose a simple model with a dynamic correction of a gyrovector and a damping tensor in solving the Thiele’s equation, which is valid even in case of the nonlinear magnetic vortex core motion.

We have investigated a coupled motion of two vortex cores in ferromagnetic/nonmagnetic/ferromagnetic trilayer cynliders by means of micromagnetic simulation. Dynamic motion of two vortex with parallel and antiparallel relative chiralities of curling spins around the vortex cores have been examined after excitation by 1-ns pulsed external field. With systematic variation in non-magnetic spacer layer thickness from 0 to 20 nm, the coupling between two cores becomes significant as the spacer becomes thinner. Significant coupling leads to a nonlinear chaotic coupled motion of two vortex cores for the parallel chiralities and a faster coupled gyrotropic oscillation for the antiparallel chiralities.

We suggest a patterned ferromagnetic multibits element for an ultrahigh density magnetic recording media. The pattern is composed of a circular ferromagnetic disk in contact to four needle-shaped sharp equilateral triangles. By using micromagnetic simulation, we found that a spin configuration of circular ferromagnetic disk is modified with position of magnetic vortex core shifted from the center by selecting a specific combination of spin states of four needles. We explore the possibility of multibits recording by shifting magnetic vortex core position in the ferromagnetic element.

We have studied Raman scattering in Co-doped ZnO nanorods prepared by thermal diffusion. Experimental results show that the features of their non-resonant spectra are similar to Raman spectra from Co-doped ZnO materials investigated previously. Under resonant conditions, however, there is a strong enhancement of multiple-phonon Raman scattering processes. Longitudinal optical (LO)-phonon overtones up to eleventh order are observed. The modes become more obvious when the Co concentration diffused into ZnO nanorods goes to an appropriate value. This phenomenon is explained due to the shift of the band-gap energy and also due to the decrease in the intensity of near-band-edge luminescence. Our observation is in agreement with the prediction [J. F. Scott, Phys. Rev. B 2, 1209 (1970)] that the number of LO-phonon lines in ZnO is higher than that observed for CdS.

This letter reports on the superior magnetocaloric properties of La0.7Ca0.3−xSrxMnO3 (x=0.05, 0.10, 0.20, and 0.25) single crystals. Upon 50 kOe applied field, the magnetic entropy changes (ΔSM) reach values of ∼10.5, 7.45, 6.97, and 6.86J∕kgK for x=0.05, 0.10, 0.20, and 0.25 compositions, respectively. The large magnetic entropy changes have been found to occur around 300 K, thus allowing magnetic refrigeration at room temperature. Due to the absence of grains in the single crystals, the ΔSM distribution here is much more uniform than that of gadolinium and polycrystalline manganites, which is desirable for an Ericson-cycle magnetic refrigerator. The single crystals have the large magnetic entropy changes induced by low magnetic field change, which is beneficial for the household application of active magnetic refrigerant (AMR) materials. These results indicate that the present single crystals are excellent candidates as working materials for AMR.