Magnetic Guinier Law and Uniaxial Polarization Analysis in Small Angle Neutron Scattering

Doctoral thesis (2022)

The present PhD thesis is devoted to the development of the use of the magnetic small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) technique for analyzing the magnetic microstructures of magnetic materials. The ... [more ▼]

The present PhD thesis is devoted to the development of the use of the magnetic small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) technique for analyzing the magnetic microstructures of magnetic materials. The emphasis is on the three aspects: (i) analytical development of the magnetic Guinier law; (ii) the application the magnetic Guinier law and of the generalized Guinier-Porod model to the analysis of experimental neutron data on various magnets such as a Nd-Fe-B nanocomposite, nanocrystalline cobalt, and Mn-Bi rare-earth-free permanent magnets; (iii) development of the theory of uniaxial neutron polarization analysis and experimental testing on a soft magnetic nanocrystalline alloy. The conventional “nonmagnetic” Guinier law represents the low-q approximation for the small-angle scattering curve from an assembly of particles. It has been derived for nonmagnetic particle-matrix-type systems and is routinely employed for the estimation of particle sizes in e.g., soft-matter physics, biology, colloidal chemistry, materials science. Here, the extension of the Guinier law is provided for magnetic SANS through the introduction of the magnetic Guinier radius, which depends on the applied magnetic field, on the magnetic interactions (exchange constant, saturation magnetization), and on the magnetic anisotropy-field radius. The latter quantity characterizes the size over which the magnetic anisotropy field is coherently aligned into the same direction. In contrast to the conventional Guinier law, the magnetic version can be applied to fully dense random-anisotropy-type ferromagnets. The range of applicability is discussed and the validity of the approach is experimentally demonstrated on a Nd-Fe-B-based ternary permanent magnet and on a nanocrystalline cobalt sample. Rare-earth-free permanent magnets in general and the Mn-Bi-based ones in particular have received a lot of attention lately due to their application potential in electronics devices and electromotors. Mn-Bi samples with three different alloy compositions were studied by means of unpolarized SANS and by very small-angle neutron scattering (VSANS). It turns out that the magnetic scattering of the Mn-Bi samples is determined by long-wavelength transversal magnetization fluctuations. The neutron data is analyzed in terms of the generalized Guinier-Porod model and the distance distribution function. The results for the so-called dimensionality parameter obtained from the Guinier-Porod model indicate that the magnetic scattering of a Mn$_{45}$Bi$_{55}$ specimen has its origin in slightly shape-anisotropic structures and the same conclusions are drawn from the distance distribution function analysis. Finally, based on Brown’s static equations of micromagnetics and the related theory of magnetic SANS, the uniaxial polarization of the scattered neutron beam of a bulk magnetic material is computed. The theoretical expressions are tested against experimental data on a soft magnetic nanocrystalline alloy, and both qualitative and quantitative correspondence is discussed. The rigorous analysis of the polarization of the scattered neutron beam establishes the framework for the emerging polarized real-space techniques such as spin-echo small-angle neutron scattering (SESANS), spin-echo modulated small-angle neutron scattering (SEMSANS), and polarized neutron dark-field contrast imaging (DFI), and opens up a new avenue for magnetic neutron data analysis on nanoscaled systems. [less ▲]

Neutron study of magnetic correlations in rare-earth-free Mn-Bi magnets

in Physical Review Materials (2021), 5

We report the results of an unpolarized small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) study on Mn-Bi-based rare-earth-free permanent magnets. The magnetic SANS cross section is dominated by long-wavelength ... [more ▼]

We report the results of an unpolarized small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) study on Mn-Bi-based rare-earth-free permanent magnets. The magnetic SANS cross section is dominated by long-wavelength transversal magnetization fluctuations and has been analyzed in terms of the Guinier-Porod model and the distance distribution function. This provides the radius of gyration which, in the remanent state, ranges between about $220-240 \, \mathrm{nm}$ for the three different alloy compositions investigated. Moreover, computation of the distance distribution function in conjunction with results for the so-called $s$-parameter obtained from the Guinier-Porod model indicate that the magnetic scattering of a Mn$_{45}$Bi$_{55}$ sample has its origin in slightly shape-anisotropic structures. [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 ▲]

Evidence for the formation of nanoprecipitates with magnetically disordered regions in bulk Ni50Mn45In5 Heusler alloys

in Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics (2019), 99

Field-Induced Spin Helix Chirality in Nanocrystalline Ho

Poster (2014, November)