Tuning exchange anisotropy in nanocomposite AgMn alloys
Abstract
Silver manganese alloys of composition Ag100−xMnx (25 ≤ x ≤ 40) were prepared by rapid solidification to investigate their reported antiferromagnetic character. Thorough characterization of their structural, compositional, and magnetic features indicates the formation of a phase-separated fcc-type structure in all studied alloys with lattice parameters and coherently diffracting region sizes on the order of 40–100 nm that are strongly correlated with the Mn content. Magnetic measurement reveals a blocking temperature TB ∼ 105 K that is accompanied by unprecedented exchange bias values up to 1.7 T (17 kOe) at low temperatures. The magnitudes of the exchange bias field and the blocking temperature increase with increasing Mn concentration, suggesting a very sensitive balance between Mn content and magnetic character in these alloys that fosters tuning of the resultant exchange bias.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Mar 09, 2012
- Source ID
- 10.1063/1.3679048
Entities
People
- F. Jiménez-villacorta
- J. L. Marion
- L. H. Lewis
- T. Sepehrifar
Organizations
- Northeastern University
- Office of Naval Research