Unraveling Nanostructured Spin Textures in Bulk Magnets

in Small Science (2021), 1(1), 2000003

One of the key challenges in magnetism remains the determination of the nanoscopic magnetization profile within the volume of thick samples, such as permanent ferromagnets. Thanks to the large penetration ... [more ▼]

One of the key challenges in magnetism remains the determination of the nanoscopic magnetization profile within the volume of thick samples, such as permanent ferromagnets. Thanks to the large penetration depth of neutrons, magnetic small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) is a powerful technique to characterize bulk samples. The major challenge regarding magnetic SANS is accessing the real-space magnetization vector field from the reciprocal scattering data. In this letter, a fast iterative algorithm is introduced that allows one to extract the underlying two-dimensional magnetic correlation functions from the scattering patterns. This approach is used here to analyze the magnetic microstructure of Nanoperm, a nanocrystalline alloy which is widely used in power electronics due to its extraordinary soft magnetic properties. It can be shown that the computed correlation functions clearly reflect the projection of the three-dimensional magnetization vector field onto the detector plane, which demonstrates that the used methodology can be applied to probe directly spin-textures within bulk samples with nanometer-resolution. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. [less ▲]

Magnetic Guinier law

in IUCrJ (2020), 7

Small-angle scattering of x-rays and neutrons is a routine method for the determination of nanoparticle sizes. The so-called Guinier law represents the low-q approximation for the small-angle scattering ... [more ▼]

Small-angle scattering of x-rays and neutrons is a routine method for the determination of nanoparticle sizes. The so-called Guinier law represents the low-q approximation for the small-angle scattering curve from an assembly of particles. The Guinier law has originally been derived for nonmagnetic particle-matrix-type systems, and it is successfully employed for the estimation of particle sizes in various scientific domains (e.g., soft matter physics, biology, colloidal chemistry, materials science). An important prerequisite for it to apply is the presence of a discontinuous interface separating particles and matrix. Here, we introduce the Guinier law for the case of magnetic small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and experimentally demonstrate its applicability for the example of nanocrystalline cobalt. It is well- known that the magnetic microstructure of nanocrystalline ferromagnets is highly nonuniform on the nanometer length scale and characterized by a spectrum of continuously varying long-wavelength magnetization fluctuations, i.e., these systems do not manifest sharp interfaces in their magnetization profile. The magnetic Guinier radius depends on the applied magnetic field, on the magnetic interactions (exchange, magnetostatics), and on the magnetic anisotropy-field radius, which characterizes the size over which the magnetic anisotropy field is coherently aligned into the same direction. In contrast to the nonmagnetic conventional Guinier law, the magnetic version can be applied to fully dense random-anisotropy-type ferromagnets. [less ▲]

Sub-millisecond time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering measurements at NIST

in Journal of Applied Crystallography (2020), 53(3),

Instrumentation for time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering measurements with sub-millisecond time resolution, based on Gähler's TISANE (time-involved small-angle neutron experiments) concept, is in ... [more ▼]

Instrumentation for time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering measurements with sub-millisecond time resolution, based on Gähler's TISANE (time-involved small-angle neutron experiments) concept, is in operation at NIST's Center for Neutron Research. This implementation of the technique includes novel electronics for synchronizing the neutron pulses from high-speed counter-rotating choppers with a periodic stimulus applied to a sample. Instrumentation details are described along with measurements demonstrating the utility of the technique for elucidating the reorientation dynamics of anisometric magnetic particles. [less ▲]

The benefits of a Bayesian analysis for the characterization of magnetic nanoparticles

in Nanotechnology (2020), 31(43), 435704

Magnetic nanoparticles offer a unique potential for various biomedical applications, but prior to commercial usage a standardized characterization of their structural and magnetic properties is required ... [more ▼]

Magnetic nanoparticles offer a unique potential for various biomedical applications, but prior to commercial usage a standardized characterization of their structural and magnetic properties is required. For a thorough characterization, the combination of conventional magnetometry and advanced scattering techniques has shown great potential. In the present work, we characterize a powder sample of high-quality iron oxide nanoparticles that are surrounded with a homogeneous thick silica shell by DC magnetometry and magnetic small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). To retrieve the particle parameters such as their size distribution and saturation magnetization from the data, we apply standard model fits of individual data sets as well as global fits of multiple curves, including a combination of the magnetometry and SANS measurements. We show that by combining a standard least-squares fit with a subsequent Bayesian approach for the data refinement, the probability distributions of the model parameters and their cross correlations can be readily extracted, which enables a direct visual feedback regarding the quality of the fit. This prevents an overfitting of data in case of highly correlated parameters and renders the Bayesian method as an ideal component for a standardized data analysis of magnetic nanoparticle samples. [less ▲]

Experimental observation of third-order effect in magnetic small-angle neutron scattering

in Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics (2020), 101

Supraferromagnetic correlations in clusters of magnetic nanoflowers

in Applied Physics Letters (2019), 115

Magnetic nanoflowers are densely packed aggregates of superferromagnetically coupled iron oxide nanocrystallites, which excel during magnetic hyperthermia experiments. Here, we investigate the nature of ... [more ▼]

Magnetic nanoflowers are densely packed aggregates of superferromagnetically coupled iron oxide nanocrystallites, which excel during magnetic hyperthermia experiments. Here, we investigate the nature of the moment coupling within a powder of such nanoflowers using spin-resolved small-angle neutron scattering. Within the powder, the nanoparticles are agglomerated to clusters, and we can show that the moments of neighboring nanoflowers tend to align parallel to each other. Thus, the whole system resembles a hierarchical magnetic nanostructure consisting of three distinct levels, i.e., (i) the ferrimagnetic nanocrystallites as building blocks, (ii) the superferromagnetic nanoflowers, and (iii) the supraferromagnetic clusters of nanoflowers. We surmise that such a supraferromagnetic coupling explains the enhanced magnetic hyperthermia performance in the case of interacting nanoflowers. [less ▲]

Transverse and longitudinal spin-fluctuations in INVAR Fe0.65Ni0.35.

in Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal (2019), 31(2), 025802

The presence of spin-fluctuations deep within the ordered state of ferromagnetic [Formula: see text] alloy [Formula: see text] has long been suspected but seldom directly observed. Inhomogeneities of one ... [more ▼]

The presence of spin-fluctuations deep within the ordered state of ferromagnetic [Formula: see text] alloy [Formula: see text] has long been suspected but seldom directly observed. Inhomogeneities of one type or another have been cited as important in stabilizing [Formula: see text] behaviour-either longitudinal spin-fluctuations associated with the [Formula: see text]-state (local environment) model or transverse magnetisation arising from non-collinear spin structures. In this study we employ small-angle neutron scattering with neutron polarization analysis to distinguish between the two possibilities. Surprisingly we in fact find evidence of dominant but uncorrelated longitudinal spin-fluctuations coexisting with transverse magnetisation which exists in short-range clusters of size ~[Formula: see text]. This finding supports recent first principles calculations of [Formula: see text] in which both longitudinal spin-fluctuations and magnetic short-range order are identified as important ingredients in reproducing the equilibrium [Formula: see text] lattice. [less ▲]

Using the singular value decomposition to extract 2D correlation functions from scattering patterns

in Acta Crystallographica. Section A, Foundations and Advances (2019), A75

Coherent Magnetization Rotation of a Layered System Observed by Polarized Neutron Scattering under Grazing Incidence Geometry

in Crystals (2019), 9(8), 383

The in-plane magnetic structure of a layered system composed of polycrystalline grains smaller than the ferromagnetic exchange length was studied to elucidate the mechanism controlling the magnetic ... [more ▼]

The in-plane magnetic structure of a layered system composed of polycrystalline grains smaller than the ferromagnetic exchange length was studied to elucidate the mechanism controlling the magnetic properties considerably different from the bulk using polarized neutron scattering under grazing incidence geometry. The measured result, together with quantitative analysis based on the distorted wave Born approximation, showed that the in-plane length of the area with a uniform orientation of moments ranging from 0.5–1.1 μ m was not significantly varied during the process of demagnetization followed by remagnetization. The obtained behavior of moments is in good agreement with the two-dimensional random anisotropy model where coherent magnetization rotation is dominant. [less ▲]

Spin-wave stiffness of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya helimagnet compounds Fe1−xCoxSi studied by small-angle neutron scattering

in Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter (2019), 100

The spin wave stiffness was measured by small-angle neutron scattering method in the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya helimagnet compounds Fe1−xCoxSi with x=0.25,0.30,0.50. It has been shown that the spin wave ... [more ▼]

The spin wave stiffness was measured by small-angle neutron scattering method in the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya helimagnet compounds Fe1−xCoxSi with x=0.25,0.30,0.50. It has been shown that the spin wave dispersion in the fully polarized state is anisotropic due to Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. It is reflected in the neutron scattering pattern as two circles for neutrons obtaining and losing the magnon energy, respectively. The centers of the circles are shifted by the momentum transfer oriented along the applied magnetic field H and equal to the wave vector of the spiral ±ks. The radius of the circles is directly related to the stiffness of spin waves and depends on the magnetic field. We have found that the spin-wave stiffness A change weakly with temperature for each individual compound. On the other hand, the spin-wave stiffness A increases linearly with x in contrast to the x dependences of the critical temperature Tc and the low-temperature ordered moment. Experimentally obtained values of the stiffness A approve quantitative applicability of the Bak-Jensen model for the compounds under study. [less ▲]