Annealing influence on the atomic ordering and magnetic moment in a Ni–Mn–Ga alloy.

4 figures.We have studied an alloy of composition Ni51Mn28Ga21 prepared by rapid quenching in the form of a ribbon, with transformation temperature TM=337 K below the magnetic-order temperature, TC=344 K. Annealing of the samples was performed at 600 K for different times. From magnetic characterization a clear increase of the saturation magnetization accompanied with an increase of TC (up to 20 K) and TM (about 10 K) has been observed. XMCD measurements of both as-quenched and annealed samples have revealed great changes for the Mn and also the existence of a strong Ni signal. These results point out a possible non-negligible role of Ni, through the polarization of the conduction band, into driving the interplay between annealing and the magnetic properties in these materials.Peer reviewe

Annealing influence on the atomic ordering and magnetic moment in a Ni–Mn–Ga alloy.

4 figures.We have studied an alloy of composition Ni51Mn28Ga21 prepared by rapid quenching in the form of a ribbon, with transformation temperature TM=337 K below the magnetic-order temperature, TC=344 K. Annealing of the samples was performed at 600 K for different times. From magnetic characterization a clear increase of the saturation magnetization accompanied with an increase of TC (up to 20 K) and TM (about 10 K) has been observed. XMCD measurements of both as-quenched and annealed samples have revealed great changes for the Mn and also the existence of a strong Ni signal. These results point out a possible non-negligible role of Ni, through the polarization of the conduction band, into driving the interplay between annealing and the magnetic properties in these materials.Peer reviewe