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The structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of CoFeCrX (X=Si, Ge) Heusler alloys have been investigated. Experimentally, the alloys were synthesized in the cubic L21 structure with small disorder. The cubic phase of CoFeCrSi was found to be highly stable against heat treatment, but CoFeCrGe disintegrated into other new compounds when the temperature reached 402°C (675K). Although the first-principle calculation predicted the possibility of tetragonal phase in CoFeCrGe, the tetragonal phase could not be stabilized experimentally. Both CoFeCrSi and CoFeCrGe compounds showed ferrimagnetic spin order at room temperature and have Curie temperatures (TC) significantly above room temperature. The measured TC for CoFeCrSi is 790K but that of CoFeCrGe could not be measured due to its dissociation into new compounds at 675K. The saturation magnetizations of CoFeCrSi and CoFeCrGe are 2.82μB/f.u. and 2.78μB/f.u., respectively, which are close to the theoretically predicted value of 3μB/f.u. for their half-metallic phases. The calculated band gaps for CoFeCrSi and CoFeCrGe are, respectively, 1eV and 0.5eV. These materials have potential for spintronic device applications, as they exhibit half-metallic electronic structures with large band gaps, and Curie temperatures significantly above room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoscale magnets with characteristic dimensions in the range of 1-100 nm are important in several areas of nanoscience and technology. First, this length scale spans the typical important dimensions of exchange lengths and domain-wall widths, which means that significant control of magnetic properties can be obtained by varying grain or particle dimensions. Second, the nonequilibrium synthetic processes used for clusters, particles, and films, often lead to new real-space crystal structures with completely novel spin structures and magnetic properties. Third, a basic-science challenge in this class of matter involves the spin-polarized quantum mechanics of many-electron systems containing 10-10 000 atoms. Finally, the materials under study may have important future applications in high-density data storage, ultra-small spintronic devices, or high-energy magnetic materials. In this article, we discuss our recent work on novel Fe-Au nanoclusters, MnAu-Mn coreshell structures, and complex high-anisotropy Co-rich intermetallic compound clusters. We also present new results on Fe-based alloys including the magnetic properties of semiconducting FeSi2 nanoclusters and spin correlations in FeGe nanocluster films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of an electric field on the magnetic properties of Fe chains on Pt(001) is investigated by first-principle calculations. The calculated magnetic anisotropy of the chains yields a preferential magnetization perpendicular to the surface. We predict a linear change in the Fe magnetic moment as a function of the external electric field, which is due to spin-dependent screening of electrons. In the presence of electric field, we also obtain an enhancement in magnetic anisotropy as well as an orbital-moment anisotropy. The enhancement in magnetic anisotropy is due to a change in the d-electron occupancy of the surface atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanocrystalline Ti0.75Zr0.25Fe2+x (x=0-0.4) and Ti0.75-yByZr0.25Fe2.4 (y=0-0.35) with high saturation magnetization have been fabricated by the melt-spinning technique. Nanocrystalline Ti0.75Zr0.25Fe2+x consists of the hexagonal C14 Laves phase (Ti,Zr)Fe2. Fe addition decreases the lattice parameter a and shrinks the cell volume. The antiferromagnetic Fe-Fe interactions may decrease with the increase of x, leading to a significant enhancement of saturation polarization (Js) and Curie temperature (Tc). The magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant K also increases with increasing x. Excessive Fe addition (x>0.25) may induce structural disorder which lowers the Js and Tc. Nanocrystalline Ti0.75-yByZr0.25Fe2.4 is composed of hexagonal (Ti,Zr)Fe2 and Fe-rich amorphous phases with relatively high Js. The lattice parameters a, c and cell volume V are almost unchanged with the increase of y for y⩾0.16. Simultaneously, the Tc of (Ti,Zr)Fe2 remains unchanged, indicating that B does not enter this lattice but takes part in forming the amorphous phase, in good agreement with the X-ray diffraction results. The volume fraction of the amorphous phase increases with the increase of B content and results in a large enhancement of Js up to 10.8 kG. Further B addition (y>0.30) decreases Js, possibly due to the decrease of the Js of the amorphous phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mesoscopic Kondo effect in metallic nanoparticles containing a magnetic impurity is investigated by model calculations. A Maxwell-Garnett approach is used to approximately determine the resistivity of doped nanoparticles in a matrix, and the magnetic susceptibility is estimated from the confinement of the conduction electrons. Conductivity measurements of nanoparticles embedded in a matrix are difficult to realize, because metallic matrices distort the Kondo cloud, whereas insulating or semiconducting matrices yield a very weak signal. By comparison, susceptibility measurements do not suffer from these shortcomings. The Kondo effect survives in nanoparticles even if the cluster size is much smaller than the Kondo screening cloud, but the effective Curie constant becomes constant below a particle-size dependent transition temperature and the temperature dependence of the susceptibility is no longer universal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of semihard magnetic phases and interfaces on the performance of nanostructured two-phase permanent magnets is investigated by model calculations. In addition to the trivial coercivity increase due to the replacement of soft regions by semihard regions, there is a coercivity enhancement even if the volume-averaged anisotropy is kept constant during the introduction of the semihard phase. A variational approach is used to derive analytical results for representative anisotropy profiles. The improvement is operative on length scales slightly larger than that of the soft phase in hard-soft composites, but the main challenge is to find semihard light or heavy transition metal phases with a high magnetization. There are several Fe- and Co-based phases, but most are thin-film systems and difficult to use in bulk magnets. Very hard nanostructured magnets may also be created from soft phases with negative but large anisotropy constants (hard-magnetic soft-soft magnets). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure of micromagnetic energy barriers responsible for slow magnetization processes is investigated. Thermally activated slow magnetization processes proceed over energy barriers whose structure is determined by the micromagnetic free energy. This restricts the range of physically meaningful energy barriers. An analysis of the underlying micromagnetic free energy yields power-law dependences with exponents of 3/2 or 2 for physically reasonable models. This must be contrasted to other power laws, such as linear laws, and to 1/H-type dependences. In the limit of small energy barriers, corrections to the Arrhenius law become important. In this regime, there is no simple expression for the relaxation behavior, but two requirements help to judge models and approximations. First, at low temperatures, the Arrhenius-type power laws must be reproduced. Second, as in the Arrhenius limit, the approaches must correspond to well-defined energy landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the magnetization reversal in single-phase RE2Fe14B and two-phase α-Fe/RE2Fe14B with varying nanoscale grain structures and intergranular exchange interactions produced via controlled segregation during crystallization. We show that the loss of coercivity arises because domain-wall processes dominate the magnetic reversal as the exchange interactions increase. Micromagnetic modeling corroborates a transition to strongly cooperative magnetic reversal as the exchange interactions increase. The magnetic reversal is controlled by the growth of interaction domains via discrete domain-wall motion, and the coercivity is intrinsically limited by the presence of interaction domains. To alleviate this problem, we have built an additional length scale into the structure that is below the interaction domain size but above the limit for intergranular exchange interactions to be significant. These “single-interaction domain” structures retain nucleation-type magnetic reversal and high coercivity. We show experimentally that nanocomposite Sm-Co/Co with this additional length scale has excellent coercivity and nucleation-controlled reversal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetic ground state and the magnetization reversal of aspherical nanoparticles are investigated by model calculations and micromagnetic simulations. Essential deviations from Kittel’s domain theory occur for very flat and very elongated particles, for particles whose size is comparable to the domain-wall width, and when the particle shape is strongly nonellipsoidal. For example, the single-domain state of square rod is much less stable than that of comparable elongated ellipsoids, because most of the surface charge of long ellipsoids is located on the sides. Another specific feature of flat particles is suppression of the curling mode. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The irreversible response of magnetic materials to magnetic fields of arbitrary time dependence is investigated by a master-equation approach. The magnetization reversal is expressed in terms of renormalized magnetization modes, and the resulting set of two-level master equations is solved by direct integration. The theory applies not only to linear energy-barrier laws but also to the physically more reasonable case where the activation energy is a nonlinear function of the applied field. Particular emphasis is on the relation between sweep-rate and magnetic-viscosity dynamics. Other regimes, such as oscillating magnetic fields, can be mapped onto sweep-rate dynamics. Magnetic-viscosity and sweep-rate experiments reflect the same fundamental magnetization processes, but energy barriers probed by dynamic experiments are smaller by about 20%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A micromagnetic Green-function approach is used to investigate the effect of nanojunctions, constraints, and other obstacles on spin-dependent conduction. Depending on geometry, the determination of the spin structure involves several types of Bessel functions. A common feature of the Green functions is the involvement of the domain-wall width of the main phase, which can be interpreted as the decay length of the magnetization perturbation away from the junction. This length is typically on the order of 10 nm and independent of the strength of the perturbation. Only the magnitude of the magnetization perturbation depends on the strength of the inhomogenity. A particular feature of the considered structures is that the total spin-dependent scattering cross section, as estimated from the squared magnetization gradient, exhibits a characteristic real-structure dependent maximum as a function of the boundary phase or junction dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetization reversal in arrays of magnetic nanoparticles with perpendicular anisotropy is investigated. Aside from domain-wall propagation effects, the reversal involves two main aspects: the nucleation behavior of individual particles and interparticle interactions. Due to magnetostatic self-interaction effects, the interparticle interaction cannot be reduced to a stray-field correction to the external field. Exact nucleation fields and explicit stray-field and self-interaction contributions are obtained for rings of equidistant dots. An exact treatment of self-interactions in various structurally inhomogeneous but rotationally symmetric wire, sphere, and thin-film nanostructures leads to renormalization of the uniaxial anisotropy. Finally, an approximate method to calculate nucleation fields is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperative and noncooperative magnetization processes in magnetic nanostructures are investigated. Using model calculations it is shown that the Preisach model and related approaches, such as Henkel, ΔM, and ΔH plots, describe magnetism on a mean-field level and cannot account for intra- and inter-granular cooperative effects. For example, the ΔM plot of a nucleation-controlled two-domain particle gives the false impression of a positive intergranular interaction. A simple but nontrivial cooperative model, consisting of two interacting but nonequivalent particles, is used to show that cooperative effects are most pronounced for narrow switching-field distributions, i.e., for nearly rectangular loops. This is unfavorable from the point of magnetic recording, where one aims at combining narrow loops with a noncooperative local switching behavior. A general rule is that the neglect of cooperative effects leads to an overestimation of the coercivity. &cop! y; 2001 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Curie temperature and the local spontaneous magnetization of ferromagnetic nanocomposites are investigated. The macroscopic character of the critical fluctuations responsible for the onset of ferromagnetic order means that there is only one Curie temperature, independent of the number of magnetic phases present. The Curie temperature increases with the grain size and is, in general, larger than predicted from the volume averages of the exchange constants. However, the Curie-temperature enhancement is accompanied by a relative reduction of the spontaneous magnetization. Due to the quadratic dependence of the permanent-magnet energy product on the spontaneous magnetization, this amounts to a deterioration of the magnets performance. The length scale on which an effective intergranular exchange coupling is realized (coupling length) depends on the Curie-temperature difference between the phases and on the spacial distribution of the local interatomic exchange. As a rule, it is of the order of a few interatomic distances; for much bigger grain sizes the structures mimic an interaction-free ensemble of different ferromagnetic materials. This must be compared to the magnetic-anisotropy coupling length, which is of the order of 10 nm. The difference is explained by the nonrelativistic character of the Curie-temperature problem. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is demonstrated that the magnetostatic demagnetizing factor is not the only sample-shape dependent contribution to the hysteresis loop. There are also exchange contributions, which lead to interesting effects, particularly in nanostructures. An example is the recently discovered bulging mode in two-phase nanomagnets. The bulging mode exhibits the angular symmetry of the coherent mode, but it is incoherent due to its radial variation and gives rise to negative demagnetizing factors. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetization of noninteracting metallic nanoparticles is investigated by comparing the particle-size and temperature dependences of the magnetization for several mechanisms. The nanoparticle magnetization deviates from that of the underlying bulk materials due to zero-temperature and thermal effects, and on a mean-field level, the corresponding surface-core interaction is described by a Landau–Ginzburg approach. A major factor is the reduced atomic coordination at the surface, which has often, but not always, opposite effects on the zero-temperature magnetization and Curie temperatures. The coordination effect is particularly pronounced for very weak itinerant ferromagnets and for strongly exchange-enhanced Pauli paramagnets. With regard to external magnetic fields, the nanoparticle magnetization involves several “superparamagnetic” phenomena, namely, Néel relaxation, Brownian relaxation, and Langevin macrospin paramagnetism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Material choices for permanent magnets are analyzed in terms of energy product, anisotropy and hardness parameter. Energy product is the main consideration for permanent magnets, because the purpose of a magnet is to store magnetostatic energy and create as much flux as possible in the surrounding space. Magnet processing is easiest if the hardness parameter is significantly greater than one. The anisotropy requirement becomes increasingly stringent for large M s and K 1 values of 1 to 2 MJ/m 3 may be insufficient. Some potential new magnets and alternative strategies to develop magnetic hardness are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First-principle supercell calculations are used to determine how 3d elemental additions, especially Fe additions, modify the magnetization, exchange and anisotropy of L10-ordered ferromagnets. Calculations are performed using the VASP code and partially involve configurational averaging over site disorder. Three isostructural systems are investigated: Fe-Co-Pt, Mn-Al-Fe, and transition metal-doped Fe-Ni. In all three systems the iron strongly influences the magnetic properties of these compounds, but the specific effect depends on the host. In CoPt(Fe) iron enhances the magnetization, with subtle changes in the magnetic moments that depend on the distribution of the Fe and Co atoms. The addition of Fe to MnAl is detrimental to the magnetization, because it creates antiferromagnetic exchange interactions, but it enhances the magnetic anisotropy. The replacement of 50% of Mn by Fe in MnFeAl2 enhances the anisotropy from 1.77 to 2.5 MJ/m^3. Further, the substitution of light 3d elements such as Ti, V, Cr into L10-ordered FeNi is shown to substantially reduce the magnetization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of substituting Zr by Hf on the structural and the magnetic properties of the nanocrystalline rapidly solidified Zr18\-xHfxCo82 ribbons (x = 0, 2, 4, and 6) have been studied. X-ray diffraction and thermomagnetic measurement results indicated that upon rapid solidification processing four magnetic phases occur: rhombohedral Zr2Co11, orthorhombic Zr2Co11, hcp Co, and cubic Zr6Co23 phases. Microstructure analysis results showed the reduction in the percentage of the soft-magnetic phase (Co) compared to the hard-magnetic phase (Zr2Co11 (rhombohedral)) with the increase in the Hf concentration. All the samples under investigation have ferromagnetic nature, at 4.2 K and at room temperature. The coercive force (Hc) and the saturation magnetization (Ms) are found to linearly increases with x (x\leq 2), then Hc slightly increases and Ms slightly decreases with increasing x. The maximum energy product (BH)\max at room temperature is found to increases with increasing x reaching a maximum value for x = 4. The magnetocrystalline anisotropy parameter of these samples are calculated to be K = 1.1 MJ/m^3 and independent of Hf concentration. The above results indicate that the replacement of Zr by Hf improves the hard-magnetic properties of this class of rear-earth-free nanocrystalline permanent magnet materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanostructured Mn3 - x Ga ribbons with x = 0, 0.4, 0.9 and 1.1 were prepared using arc-melting, melt-spinning and annealing. As-spun samples crystallized into hexagonal D019 and cubic L21 Heusler crystal structures based on the concentration of Mn in Mn3 - xGa. Upon vacuum-annealing the samples at 450 ^\circC for about 50 hours, both the hexagonal and cubic structures transformed into a tetragonal D022 structure. High-temperature x-ray diffraction and high-temperature magnetometry showed that the samples with low Mn content (Mn1.9 Ga and Mn2.1Ga) retain their tetragonal structure up to 850 K but the samples with high Mn concentrations (Mn2.6 Ga and Mn3.0Ga) undergo a structural phase transition from tetragonal to hexagonal phases around 800 K. The magnetic properties of Mn3 - x Ga ribbons were very sensitive to Mn concentration, where the magnetization and anisotropy energy increased and the coercivity decreased as x increased from 0 to 1.1. Although the Curie temperatures of Mn2.6 Ga and Mn3.0 Ga samples could not be determined because of the structural phase transition, the Curie temperature decreased with increasing x in Mn3 - xGa. The maximum magnetization of 57 emu/g (300 emu/cm^3) and the coercivity of 6.5 kOe were measured in the Mn1.9 Ga and Mn3.0Ga ribbons, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural and magnetic properties of Pr-alloyed MnBi (short MnBi-Pr) nanostructures with a range of Pr concentrations are investigated. The nanostructures include thin films having Pr concentrations 0, 2, 3, 5 and 9 at.% and melt-spun ribbons having Pr concentrations 0%, 2%, 4% and 6%, respectively. Addition of Pr into the MnBi lattice has produced a significant change in the magnetic properties of these nanostructures including an increase in coercivity and structural phase transition temperature, and a decrease in saturation magnetization and anisotropy energy. The highest value of coercivity measured in the films is 23 kOe and in the ribbons is 5.6 kOe. The observed magnetic properties are explained as the consequences of competing ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Magnetization processes in particulate L10 FePt nanostructures are investigated by model calculations and numerical simulations. The systems considered include anisotropic nanograins embedded in non-magnetic matrix; randomly oriented nanoclusters embedded in a C matrix, and nanocomposites of FePt particles in a semi-hard matrix. The reversal mechanisms depend on both intra- and intergranular features. Quasi-coherent rotation dominates the reversal in weakly-coupled granular magnets, but interface imperfections yield a disproportionately strong coercivity reduction. Strong intergranular exchange leads to a transition to a discrete pinning regime, which is accompanied by a coercivity maximum. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Zero- and finite-temperature coercivity mechanisms in disordered nanostructures are investigated by model calculations. Three different aspects are considered. First, it is shown that strongly reduced exchange in grain-boundary regions changes the power-law scaling exponent for the coercivity of random-anisotropy magnets. Second, it is analyzed how random interatomic exchange affects the thermal blocking and therefore the coercivity of spin glasses. Third, a master-equation approach is used to quantitatively elucidate the relation between the magnetic-viscosity regime and the sweep-rate dependence of the coercivity. A common feature of the considered mechanisms is that interatomic exchange creates nanoscale cooperative units which realize the coercivity in real space. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The effect of an applied electric field on the magnetic properties of L 10-ordered CoPd thin films is investigated by first-principle calculations. Both the magnetic moment and the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the surface atoms are changed by the electric field, but the net effect depends on the surface termination. The magnetocrystalline anisotropy switches from in-plane to perpendicular in the presence of external electric field. Typical magnetic-moment changes are 0.1 \muB per eV/\AA. The main mechanism is the shift of the Fermi level, but the anisotropy change also reflects a crystal-field change due to incomplete screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between quantum mechanics and nanoscale spin dynamics is investigated by analyzing past work in magnetism and beyond. Findings about magnetization dynamics, accumulated throughout the 20th century, are revisited from a unifying modern perspective and related to trends in other areas of physics and technology. Traditional topics, for example spin precession and thermally activated magnetization processes, are discussed with emphasis on characteristic times and length scales, showing that nanoscale magnetization dynamics is very different from atomic spin dynamics. It is shown how these topics are connected to more recent developments such as the Berry phase, the no-cloning theorem, quantum-spin fluctuations, and THz magnetization dynamics in antiferromagnets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intergranular interactions in nanostructured FePt:Ag thin films and their effect on magnetic hysteresis are investigated. The films, produced by multilayer deposition plus rapid thermal annealing, consist of FePt nanoparticles embedded in a silver matrix. They are investigated by magnetization mea- surements and magnetic force microscopy. Analytical model - calculations, supported by micromagnetic simulations, are used to elucidate the relation between coercivity, hysteresis-loop slope, and spatial correlations during magnetization reversal. The analytical calculations yield simple expressions for the loop slope and the coercivity as a function of the intergranular exchange. Small intergranular exchange enhances the coercivity, but for strong exchange there is a self-energy cutoff, associated with the onset of cooperative reversal and preventing alpha from becoming negative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The atomic origin of micromagnetic damping is investigated by developing and solving a quantum-mechanical relaxation model. A projection-operator technique is used to derive an analytical expression for the relaxation time as a function of the heat-bath and interaction parameters. The present findings are consistent with earlier research beyond the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation and show that the underlying relaxation mechanism is very general. Zermelo's recurrence paradox means that there is no true irreversibility in non-interacting nanoparticles, but the corresponding recurrence times are very long and can be ignored in many cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interplay between atomic and micromagnetic effects in Co-Pd multilayers is investigated by model calculations and numerical simulations. By minimizing the total exchange energy, an effective exchange stiffness is obtained. The stiffness depends on the superlattice periodicity, on the wave vector of the magnetization variation, and on the exchange coupling through the Pd, which is calculated from first principles (J = 7.66 mJ/m2). The net magnetic anisotropy, Keff = 0.71 MJ/m3, which is also obtained from first principles, contains two parts, namely the Pd-Co interface anisotropy Kif = 0.45 mJ/m2 and the bulk anisotropy KCo = -0.28 MJ/m3 of the strained fcc Co. For vertical and lateral magnetization variations, we find domain-wall thicknesses of 5.1 nm and 6.9 nm and domain-wall energies of 5.94 mJ/m2 and 6.66 mJ/m2, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural, magnetic, and electron transport properties of Mn55-xFexBi45 (x = 0, 2, 4, 5, 8, 11, 13, 16) films prepared by multilayer deposition and annealing using e-beam evaporation have been investigated. Fe doping has produced a significant change in the magnetic properties of the samples including the decrease in saturation magnetization and magnetocrystalline anisotropy and increase in coercivity. Although the magnetization shows a smooth decrease with increasing Fe concentration, the coercivity jumps abruptly from 8.5 kOe to 22 kOe as Fe content changes from 4% to 5%, but the change in coercivity is small as the concentration goes beyond 5%. The temperature dependence of resistivity shows that the samples with low Fe concentration (≤4%) are metallic, but the resistivity increases unexpectedly as the concentration reaches 5%, where the resistance increases with decreasing temperature below 300 K. First-principle calculations suggest that the observed magnetic properties can be understood as the consequences of competing ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic exchange interactions between the interstitial atom and the rest of the MnBi lattice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural, magnetic, and electron transport properties of Mn55-xAuxBi45 (x = 0, 4.5) thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering have been investigated. The magnetization of the MnBi films decreases and the coercivity increases due to Au doping. The temperature dependence of resistivity between 2 to 300 K shows that the films are metallic but the 4.5% Au-doped film shows a Kondo behavior with resistance minimum at 10.2 K. The magnetoresistance is anisotropic and the positive transverse magnetoresistance is significantly enhanced (16.3% at 70 kOe) by Au doping. We interpret these data in terms of a model in which Au atoms preferentially substitute for Mn atoms on the Mn lattice, and some Mn atoms are displaced to interstitial sites in the NiAs structure. These interstitial Mn atoms are coupled antiferromagnetically to the Mn atoms on the original Mn lattice leading to the large decrease in magnetization, Kondo effect, and the positive magnetoresistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relation between orbital moment and magnetic anisotropy is investigated by model calculations, which show that only a part of the spin-orbit coupling contributes to the anisotropy. A large part of the anisotropy energy, about 50% for iron series elements and nearly 100% for rare-earths, is stored in the nonrelativistic part of the Hamiltonian. A feature important for x-ray magnetic circular dichroism is that the orbital moment of heavy atoms rotates with the spin moment, whereas in light atoms, the orbital moment is recreated in each different direction. In the discussion, we consider three examples of current interest in different areas of magnetism, namely, spin-orbit coupling in Gd3+ and Eu2+, surface anisotropy of Nd2Fe14B, and multiferroic magnetization switching using rare-earths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ab initio calculations of the biaxial anisotropy of infinite Pd zigzag chains are presented. The simulations were performed with the Vienna Ab-Initio Simulation Package, using a tetragonal unit cell with a supercell approach where the atoms are repeated along the z-direction. The anisotropy is determined from the energies along the three principal directions [001], [100], and [010]. The second-order anisotropy constants K1 and K1 ′ were extracted by fitting the calculated energy values to the phenomenological energy. The easiest magnetization direction is along the wire axis, whereas the hardest direction is perpendicular to the plane of the wire. The calculated anisotropy constants K1 and K1 ′ are 5.5 MJ/m3 and -13.9 MJ/m3, respectively These anisotropies are large, but they are smaller than those of linear chains, because the zigzag shape leads to a quenched orbital moment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating prospects for new transition-metal-rich and lanthanide-free permanent magnets, we calculate the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of dilute Co1-xPtx and Co1-xPdx alloys. The ab initio calculations are done by using the full-potential linear augmented plane wave method, treating exchange and correlation within the generalized gradient approximation. The anisotropy contributions, 11.9 kJ/m3 per at. % Pd and 10.8 kJ/m3 per at. % Pt, are in a range suitable for permanent magnets application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rock-salt NiO and Ni0.7Zn0.3O nanoparticles were investigated by x-ray diffraction, atomic-force microscopy, and magnetic measurements. Nanoparticle diameters varied from 8 to 30 nm depending on reaction conditions. There are two main magnetization contributions, the field-induced spin canting of the antiferromagnetic sublattices and the magnetization rotation caused by uncompensated spins interacting with the magnetic field. The former is a bulk effect, modified by the presence of Zn, whereas the latter is a nanoscale effect that increases with decreasing particle size. The relative contributions of the two effects depend on particle size with a critical size of about 18 nm resulting in bulklike behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anisotropy contribution of itinerant electrons confined to a quantum-well potential is calculated and compared with the quasi-ionic contribution due to virtually bound electrons. The easy magnetization direction of the non-L-S quantum-well electrons lies in the plane, and the magnitude of the anisotropy, maximally of order 10 J/m/sup 3/, is too weak to explain anisotropies encountered in practice. This means that itinerant 3d anisotropy in materials and thin films is associated with Hund's-rules-type ionic contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The expansion of magnetic domains in thin films with perpendicular anisotropy is investigated. To determine the domain-wall-velocity as a function of the applied magnetic field a selfconsistent magnetic-viscosity approach is used. The main predictions of the theory are a linear behaviour in the moderately strong fields, a quasi-exponential behaviour for fields close to the propagation field, and a negative velocity for very small and negative fields. The predictions of the theory are compatible with domain-wall investigations on Au/Co/Au sandwiches. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The magnetism of sesquilayer bcc iron films on W(110) is investigated. Coercivity data and theoretical calculations indicate that the freezing of the magnetization at low temperatures reflects exchange-dominated domain-wall pinning rather than superparamagnetic spin-glass behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Nanocrystalline Ti0.75Zr0.25Fe2+x (x=0-0.4) and Ti0.75-yByZr0.25Fe2.4 (y=0-0.35) with high saturation magnetization have been fabricated by the melt-spinning technique. Nanocrystalline Ti0.75Zr0.25Fe2+x consists of the hexagonal C14 Laves phase (Ti,Zr)Fe2. Fe addition decreases the lattice parameter a and shrinks the cell volume. The antiferromagnetic Fe-Fe interactions may decrease with the increase of x, leading to a significant enhancement of saturation polarization (Js) and Curie temperature (Tc). The magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant K also increases with increasing x. Excessive Fe addition (x>0.25) may induce structural disorder which lowers the Js and Tc. Nanocrystalline Ti0.75-yByZr0.25Fe2.4 is composed of hexagonal (Ti,Zr)Fe2 and Fe-rich amorphous phases with relatively high Js. The lattice parameters a, c and cell volume V are almost unchanged with the increase of y for y⩾0.16. Simultaneously, the Tc of (Ti,Zr)Fe2 remains unchanged, indicating that B does not enter this lattice but takes part in forming the amorphous phase, in good agreement with the X-ray diffraction results. The volume fraction of the amorphous phase increases with the increase of B content and results in a large enhancement of Js up to 10.8 kG. Further B addition (y>0.30) decreases Js, possibly due to the decrease of the Js of the amorphous phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exchange coupling between a hard magnetic layer MnBi and a soft magnetic layer Co-Fe has been found to significantly improve the maximum energy product. In this work, the spin structure of exchange-coupled MnBi:Co-Fe bilayers is experimentally investigated by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and polarized neutron reflectometry (PNR). We find that the out-of-plane magnetization reversal process of the MnBi:Co-Fe bilayer structure involves formation of a curling-type twisting of the magnetization in the film plane at low or intermediate reversal fields. Micromagnetic simulations are further performed to provide a detailed view of the spins at the curling center. Reminiscent of chiral spin structures known as spin bobbers, this curling in the exchange-coupled hard-soft magnetic bilayers is a new type of skyrmionic spin structure and worth further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper we report results on the synthesis and magnetic properties of L10 FePt nanocomposite films. Three fabrication methods have been developed to produce high-anisptropy FePt films: non-epitaxial growth of (001)-oriented FePt:X (X=Ag, C) composite films that might be used for perpendicular media; monodispersed FePt(CF x ) core–shell nanocluster-assembled films grown with a gas-aggregation technique and having uniform cluster size and narrow size distribution; and template-mediated self-assembled FePt clusters prepared with chemical synthesis by a hydrogen reduction technique, which has a high potential for controlling both cluster size and orientation. The magnetic properties are controllable through variations in the nanocluster properties and nanostructure. Analytical and numerical simulations have been done for these films, providing better understanding of the magnetization reversal mechanisms. The films show promise for development as magnetic recording media at extremely high areal densities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Magnetic investigations on a nanocomposite material obtained by spinning solutions of styrene–butadiene–styrene block copolymer containing barium ferrite nanoparticles onto Si wafers are reported. The effect of the spinning frequency on the magnetic features is discussed. It is observed that the magnetization at saturation is decreased as the spinning frequency is increased as the centrifuge force removes the magnetic nanoparticles from the solution. This is supported by the derivative of the hysteresis loops, which show two components, one with a high coercive field and another with a small coercive field. Increasing the spinning frequency increases the weight of the low coercive field component. The anisotropy in the distribution of magnetic nanoparticles, triggered eventually by the self-assembly capabilities of the matrix, is revealed by the difference between the coercive field in parallel and perpendicular configuration. It is noticed that increasing the spinning frequency enhances this difference. The effect of annealing the nanocomposite films is discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Review: 50 refs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]