Magnetic microstructure and properties of the nanocrystalline hard magnet terbium

We present an experimental study of the magnetic properties and magnetic microstructure in the nanocrystalline hard magnet Tb. Field-dependent small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) data suggest that up to applied fields of several Tesla the magnetization remains locked in to the basal planes of the hcp crystal lattice of each individual crystallite; as a consequence, domain-wall movement along the basal planes is eliminated as a mechanism for magnetization reversal, and the coercive field is substantially increased.