Direct measurements of the correlation between reentrant ferromagnetism and lattice expansion in FeCuZr alloys

Amorphous metastable alloy of nominal composition [Fe_(0.5)Cu_(0.5)]_(87)Zr_(13) has been synthesized by high-energy ball milling. The alloy exhibit a ferromagnetic behavior with a Curie Temperature of T_(C)=255 K, as determined from low-field measurements whereas no transition to a paramagnetic sta...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Martinez, A., Spottorno Giner, Jorge, Figueroa, A., Bartolome, F., Garcia, L. M., Prestipino, C., Hernando Grande, Antonio, Crespo del Arco, Patricia
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2010
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/42610
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/42610
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:538.9
Semiconductors
Ferromagnetism
Nanoparticles
Física de materiales
Física del estado sólido
2211 Física del Estado Sólido
Descripción
Sumario:Amorphous metastable alloy of nominal composition [Fe_(0.5)Cu_(0.5)]_(87)Zr_(13) has been synthesized by high-energy ball milling. The alloy exhibit a ferromagnetic behavior with a Curie Temperature of T_(C)=255 K, as determined from low-field measurements whereas no transition to a paramagnetic state is observed under high- enough applied magnetic fields. The evolution of hysteresis loops with temperature as well as thermoremanence measurements indicate an anomalous magnetic behavior characterized by a spontaneous increase in the magnetization values as well as by a magnetic hardening when the temperature is increased above T_(C). These effects are strongly correlated with a dilation of the Fe-Fe nearest-neighbor distances, as determined from extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) studies. EXAFS results indicate an almost negligible thermal expansion at temperatures below T_(C) while normal thermal expansion takes place at higher temperatures. Such expansion seems to promote a reinforcement of the ferromagnetic interactions among Fe-Fe atoms that would account for the observed spontaneous increase in the magnetization as well as for the evolution of the coercive field.