Computational design of rare-earth reduced permanent magnets

Multiscale simulation is a key research tool in the quest for new permanent magnets. Starting with first principles methods, a sequence of simulation methods can be applied to calculate the maximum possible coercive field and expected energy density product of a magnet made from a novel magnetic material composition. Iron (Fe)-rich magnetic phases suitable for permanent magnets can be found by means of adaptive genetic algorithms. The intrinsic properties computed by ab intro simulations are used as input for micromagnetic simulations of the hysteresis properties of permanent magnets with a realistic structure. Using machine learning techniques, the magnet's structure can be optimized so that the upper limits for coercivity and energy density product for a given phase can be estimated. Structure property relations of synthetic permanent magnets were computed for several candidate hard magnetic phases. The following pairs (coercive field (T), energy density product (kJ.m(-3))) were obtained for iron-tin-antimony (Fe3Sn0.75Sb0.25): (0.49, 290), L1(0) -ordered iron-nickel (L1(0) FeNi): (1, 400), cobalt-iron-tantalum (CoFe6Ta): (0.87, 425), and manganese-aluminum (MnAl): (0.53, 80).Web of Science6215314

Tuning magnetocrystalline anisotropy of Fe3_{3}Sn by alloying

The electronic structure, magnetic properties and phase formation of hexagonal ferromagnetic Fe$_{3}$Sn-based alloys have been studied from first principles and by experiment. The pristine Fe$_{3}$Sn compound is known to fulfill all the requirements for a good permanent magnet, except for the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy (MAE). The latter is large, but planar, i.e. the easy magnetization axis is not along the hexagonal c direction, whereas a good permanent magnet requires the MAE to be uniaxial. Here we consider Fe$_{3}$Sn$_{0.75}$M$_{0.25}$, where M= Si, P, Ga, Ge, As, Se, In, Sb, Te and Bi, and show how different dopants on the Sn sublattice affect the MAE and can alter it from planar to uniaxial. The stability of the doped Fe$_{3}$Sn phases is elucidated theoretically via the calculations of their formation enthalpies. A micromagnetic model is developed in order to estimate the energy density product (BH)max and coercive field $\mu_{0}$H$_{c}$ of a potential magnet made of Fe$_{3}$Sn$_{0.75}$Sb$_{0.25}$, the most promising candidate from theoretical studies. The phase stability and magnetic properties of the Fe$_{3}$Sn compound doped with Sb and Mn has been checked experimentally on the samples synthesised using the reactive crucible melting technique as well as by solid state reaction. The Fe$_{3}$Sn-Sb compound is found to be stable when alloyed with Mn. It is shown that even small structural changes, such as a change of the c/a ratio or volume, that can be induced by, e.g., alloying with Mn, can influence anisotropy and reverse it from planar to uniaxial and back

Vibrational properties of SrVO2 H with large spin-phonon coupling

The antiferromagnetic transition metal oxyhydride SrVO2H is distinguished by its stoichiometric composition and an ordered arrangement of H atoms. The tetragonal structure is related to the cubic perovskite and consists of alternating layers of VO2 and SrH. d2 V(III) attains a sixfold coordination by four O and two H atoms. The latter are arranged in a trans fashion, which produces H-V-H chains along the tetragonal axis. Here, we investigate the vibrational properties of SrVO2H by inelastic neutron scattering and infrared spectroscopy combined with phonon calculations based on density functional theory. The H-based vibrational modes divide into a degenerate bending motion perpendicular to the H-V-H chain direction and a highly dispersed stretching motion along the H-V-H chain direction. The bending motion, with a vibrational frequency of approximately 800 cm-1, is split into two components separated by about 50 cm-1, owing to the doubled unit cell from the antiferromagnetic structure. Interestingly, spin-phonon coupling stiffens the H-based modes by 50-100cm-1 although super-exchange coupling via H is very small. Frequency shifts of the same order of magnitude also occur for V-O modes. It is inferred that SrVO2H displays the hitherto largest recognized coupling between magnetism and phonons in a material

Elastic properties of body-centered cubic iron in Earths inner core

The solid Earths inner core (IC) is a sphere with a radius of about 1300 km in the center of the Earth. The information about the IC comes mainly from seismic studies. The composition of the IC is obtained by matching the seismic data and properties of candidate phases subjected to high pressure (P) and temperature (T). The close match between the density of the IC and iron suggests that the main constituent of the IC is iron. However, the stable phase of iron is still a subject of debate. One such iron phase, the body-centered cubic phase (bcc), is dynamically unstable at pressures of the IC (330-364 GPa) and low T but gets stabilized at high T characteristic of the IC (5000-7000 K). So far, ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) studies attempted to compute the bcc elastic properties for a small (order of 102) number of atoms. The mechanism of the bcc stabilization cannot be enabled in such cells and that has led to erroneous results. Here we apply AIMD to compute elastic moduli and sound velocities of the Fe bcc phase for a 2000 Fe atom computational cell, which is a cell of unprecedented size for ab initio calculations of iron. Unlike in previous ab initio calculations, both the longitudinal and the shear sound velocities of the Fe bcc phase closely match the properties of the IC material at P = 360 GPa and T = 6600 K, likely the PT conditions in the IC. The calculated density of the bcc iron at these PT conditions is just 3% higher than the density of the IC material according to the Preliminary Earth Model. This suggests that the widely assumed amount of light elements in the IC may need a reconsideration. The anisotropy of the bcc phase is an exact match to the most recent seismic studies.Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council (VR) [2019-05551, 2017-03744, 2019-06063]; Olle Engkvist Byggmastare Foundation; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009-00971]; Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation; ERC [854843]; Swedish Research Council [2016-07213]</p

Ab-initio study of the electronic structure and magnetic properties of Ce2Fe17

The Ce2Fe17 intermetallic compound has been studied intensely for several decades; its low-temperature state is reported experimentally either as ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic by different authors, with a measured ordering temperature ranging within a hundred Kelvin. The existing theoretical investigations overestimate the experimental total magnetic moment of Ce2Fe17 by 20-40% and predict a ferromagnetic ground state. By means of first-principle electronic structure calculations, we show that the total magnetic moment of Ce2Fe17 can be reproduced within the Local Density Approximation while functionals based on the Generalized Gradient Approximation fail. Atomistic spin dynamics simulations are shown to capture the change in the magnetic state of Ce2Fe17 with temperature, and closely replicate the reported helical structure that appears in some of the experimental investigations