Particle orientation distribution in Y-Fe2O3magnetic tapes by Mössbauer and hysteresis loop measurements

The particle orientation in several Y-Fe2O3magnetic tapes has been quantitatively evaluated by using the data of both Mössbauer and hysteresis loop measurements performed in the three orthogonal directions. A texture function has been obtained as a development of real harmonics. The profile of the texture function gives the quality of the different magnetic tapes. A different degree of particle orientation at the surface of the tape is evidenced by means of conversion electron Mössbauer spectra

Modelling exchange bias in core/shell nanoparticles

We present an atomistic model of a single nanoparticle with core/shell structure that takes into account its lattice strucutre and spherical geometry, and in which the values of microscopic parameters such as anisotropy and exchange constants can be tuned in the core, shell and interfacial regions. By means of Monte Carlo simulations of the hysteresis loops based on this model, we have determined the range of microscopic parameters for which loop shifts after field cooling can be observed. The study of the magnetic order of the interfacial spins for different particles sizes and values of the interfacial exchange coupling have allowed us to correlate the appearance of loop asymmetries and vertical displacements to the existence of a fraction of uncompensated spins at the shell interface that remain pinned during field cycling, offering new insight on the microscopic origin of the experimental phenomenology.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Contribution presented at HMM 2007 held at Napoli 4-6 June 2007. To be published in J. Phys. Condens. Matte

Monte Carlo simulation study of exchange biased hysteresis loops in nanoparticles

We present the results of Monte Carlo simulations of the magnetic properties of a model for a single nanoparticle consisting in a ferromagnetic core surrounded by an antiferromagnetic shell. The simulations of hysteresis loops after cooling in a magnetic field display exchange bias effects. In order to understand the origin of the loop shifts, we have studied the thermal dependence of the shell and interface magnetizations under field cooling. These results, together with inspection of the snapshots of the configurations attained at low temperature, show the existence of a net magnetization at the interface which is responsible for the bias of the hysteresis loops.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures embedded. To be published in Physica

Interaction effects and energy barrier distribution on the magnetic relaxation of nanocrystalline hexagonal ferrites

The static and dynamic magnetic properties of nanocrystalline BaFe10.4Co0.8Ti0.8O19 M-type doped barium ferrite were studied in detail to clarify the effect of interactions on the magnetic relaxation of an assembly of small particles. The logarithmic approximation was unable to account for the magnetic relaxation of the sample. Interaction effects were analyzed from the low-field susceptibility, DM plots and the time dependence of thermoremanence, indicating that demagnetizing interactions led to an enhancement of both the relaxation rate at low temperatures and the amount of the lowest energy barriers. It is thus suggested that care should be taken when analyzing thermoremanent data at low temperature, in order not to confuse these experimental findings with the signature of macroscopic quantum tunneling

Aggregation state and magnetic properties of magnetite nanoparticles controlled by an optimized silica coating

The control of magnetic interactions is becoming essential to expand/improve the applicability of magnetic nanoparticles (NPs). Here, we show that an optimized microemulsion method can be used to obtain homogenous silica coatings on even single magnetic nuclei of highly crystalline Fe3-xO4 NPs (7 and 16nm) derived from a high-temperature method. We show that the thickness of this coating is controlled almost at will allowing much higher average separation among particles as compared to the oleic acid coating present on pristine NPs. Magnetic susceptibility studies show that the thickness of the silica coating allows the control of magnetic interactions. Specifically, as this effect is better displayed for the smallest particles, we show that dipole-dipole interparticle interactions can be tuned progressively for the 7 nm NPs, from almost non-interacting to strongly interacting particles at room temperature. The quantitative analysis of the magnetic properties unambiguously suggests that dipolar interactions significantly broaden the effective distribution of energy barriers by spreading the distribution of activation magnetic volumes. Published by AIP Publishing

Mossbauer and magnetization studies of amorphous NdFeB compositionally modulated thin films

Several NdFeB compositionally modulated thin films are studied by using both conversion electron Mossbauer spectra and SQUID (superconducting quantum-interference-device) magnetometry. Both the hyperfine fields and the easy magnetization magnitude are not correlated with the modulation characteristic length (lambda) while the magnetization perpendicular to the thin-film plane decreases as lambda increases. The spectra were recorded at room temperature being the gamma rays perpendicular to the substrate plane. The magnetization measurements were recorded by using a SHE SQUID magnetometer in applied magnetic fields up to 5.5 T and in the temperature range between 1.8 and 30 K

Temperature dependence of the magnetization processes in Co/Al oxide/Permalloy trilayers

The magnetization process of Co/Al oxide/Py trilayers and its evolution with the temperature have been analyzed. The particular behavior of the Co layers, including the shift of the hysteresis loops and a coercivity increase with the decrease of temperature, is related with the apparition of a CoO layer at the Co/Al-oxide interface

Acoustic emission across the magnetostructural transition of the giant magnetocaloric Gd5Si2Ge2 compound

We report on the existence of acoustic emission during the paramagnetic-monoclinic to ferromagnetic-orthorhombic magnetostructural phase transition in the giant magnetocaloric Gd5Si2Ge2 compound. The transition kinetics have been analyzed from the detected acoustic signals. It is shown that this transition proceeds by avalanches between metastable states.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure