Uniaxial polarization analysis of bulk ferromagnets: theory and first experimental results

in Journal of Applied Crystallography (2022), 55

Based on Brown’s static equations of micromagnetics, the uniaxial polarization of the scattered neutron beam of a bulk magnetic material is computed. The approach considers a Hamiltonian that takes into ... [more ▼]

Based on Brown’s static equations of micromagnetics, the uniaxial polarization of the scattered neutron beam of a bulk magnetic material is computed. The approach considers a Hamiltonian that takes into account the isotropic exchange interaction, the antisymmetric Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction, magnetic anisotropy, the dipole–dipole interaction, as well as the effect of an applied magnetic field. In the high-field limit, the solutions for the magnetization Fourier components are used to obtain closed-form results for the spinpolarized SANS (small-angle neutron scattering) cross sections and the ensuing polarization. The theoretical expressions are compared with experimental data on a soft magnetic nanocrystalline alloy. The micromagnetic SANS theory provides a general framework for polarized real-space neutron methods, and it may open up a new avenue for magnetic neutron data analysis on magnetic microstructures. [less ▲]

Using small-angle scattering to guide functional magnetic nanoparticle design

in Nanoscale Advances (2022), 4

Small-angle neutron scattering by spatially inhomogeneous ferromagnets with a nonzero average uniaxial anisotropy

in Journal of Applied Crystallography (2022), 55

Quantum Skyrmion Lattices in Heisenberg Ferromagnets

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Skyrmions are topological magnetic textures which can arise in non-centrosymmetric ferromagnetic materials. In most systems experimentally investigated to date, skyrmions emerge as classical objects ... [more ▼]

Skyrmions are topological magnetic textures which can arise in non-centrosymmetric ferromagnetic materials. In most systems experimentally investigated to date, skyrmions emerge as classical objects. However, the discovery of skyrmions with nanometer length scales has sparked interest in their quantum properties. Quantum corrections to the classical magnetic textures have already been considered in the semiclassical regime. Here, we go beyond this limit by investigating quantum skyrmions in the deep quantum regime. We use density matrix renormalization group techniques to study two-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg ferromagnets with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions and discover a broad region in the zero temperature phase diagram which hosts quantum skyrmion lattice ground states. We argue that this novel quantum skyrmion phase can be detected experimentally in the magnetization profile via local magnetic polarization measurements as well as in the spin structure factor measurable via neutron scattering experiments. Finally, we explore the resulting quantum skyrmion state, analyze its real space polarization profile and show that it is a non-classical state featuring entanglement between quasiparticle and environment mainly localized near the boundary spins of the skyrmion. [less ▲]

Role of higher-order effects in spin-misalignment small-angle neutron scattering of high-pressure torsion nickel

in Physical Review Materials (2021), 5

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 ▲]

Chemical vapor deposition of CoFe2O4 micropillar arrays with enhanced magnetic properties

in Journal of Alloys and Compounds (2021), 890

Low-Temperature Growth of AlN Films on Magnetostrictive Foils for High-Magnetoelectric-Response Thin-Film Composites

in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces (2021), 13

Toward Understanding Complex Spin Textures in Nanoparticles by Magnetic Neutron Scattering

in Physical Review Letters (2020), 125

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 ▲]