Ce travail de thèse portait sur la synthèse et l'étude de complexes magnétiques redox-actifs comme prototypes pour la conception d'aimants moléculaires à haute température. L'activité redox est assurée par le ligand pontant, qui peut moduler et parfois améliorer significativement les propriétés magnétiques. Après un chapitre d'introduction présentant les derniers développements dans le domaine des matériaux magnétiques moléculaires, un accent particulier est mis sur l'importance d'avoir un fort couplage d'échange magnétique J entre les porteurs de spin. Une étude bibliographique présentant deux approches émergentes pour augmenter J dans les composés polynucléaires est également présentée et discutée. Le chapitre 2 présente les synthèses et caractérisations de complexes dinucléaires [M2(tphz)(tpy)2](PF6)n (M = Co(II) ou Ni(II); n = 4, 3, 2, tphz = tétrapyridophénazine, tpy = terpyridine) construits à partir de ligands pontant (tphz) et bloquant (tpy) fortement coordinants et redox-actifs. Les études approfondies de ces composés montrent que le ligand pontant redox-actif peut être utilisé comme un outil de choix pour promouvoir une délocalisation des spins, de forts couplages magnétiques, ainsi que de la commutabilité. L’analyse des résultats obtenus permet également de mieux comprendre les paramètres clés pour l’élaboration de systèmes fortement couplés magnétiquement. Dans le prolongement de ce travail visant à sélectionner les meilleurs composants pour la conception rationnelle d'aimants moléculaires à haute température, le chapitre 3 décrit une nouvelle série de complexes mononucléaires [Cr(III)(tphz)(tpy)](CF3SO3)n (n = 3, 2, 1). Les complexes mono- et doublement réduits présentent des interactions magnétiques remarquablement fortes entre les ions métalliques et les ligands radicalaires, et pourraient servir d'unités magnétiques intéressantes pour la conception d'aimants de plus hautes nucléarités. / The thesis work aims at the synthesis and study of redox-active magnetic molecules as prototypes towards the design of molecule-based magnets with high operating temperature, a prerequisite for technological applications. The redox activity is provided by the bridging ligand, which could tune and sometimes enhance significantly the magnetic properties of the resulting molecular architectures. After an introduction chapter presenting the latest developments in the field of molecule-based magnetic materials, special emphasis is given on the importance of having large magnetic exchange coupling J between the spin carriers to reach high operating temperature. This is supported by a bibliographic study concerning two emerging approach to enhance J values in polynuclear compounds. Chapter 2 presents the syntheses and characterizations of dinuclear M(II) complexes [M2(tphz)(tpy)2](PF6)n (M = Co or Ni; n = 4, 3, 2, tphz = tetrapyridophenazine) built by using strongly complexing, redox-active bridging ligand (tphz), and terpyridine (tpy) as capping ligands. The extensive studies on these compounds show that the redox-active bridging ligand can be used as a tool to promote spin delocalization, high spin complexes and magnetic multi-switchability. Importantly the work reveals the key parameters towards building strongly magnetically coupled systems. As a continuation research of finding the best magnetic components for the rational design of high temperature molecule-based magnets, Chapter 3 describes a new series of [Cr(III)(tphz)(tpy)](CF3SO3)n (n = 3, 2, 1) mononuclear complexes. Both the mono and doubly-reduced complexes show remarkable magnetic interactions between metal center and radical ligands, which could further act as interesting magnetic units for the design of higher nuclearities magnets.

Magnetic properties of diluted magnetic semiconductors and magnetic metallic multilayers are investigated by SQUID magnetometry. By doping GaAs with magnetic Mn2+ ions under well defined growth conditions, one obtains a diluted magnetic semiconductor, (Ga,Mn)As, in which the randomly-distributed magnetic ions act as acceptor centers. At high enough dopant and hole concentration a carrier-induced ferromagnetic state results between the magnetic ions. Due to peculiarities of the growth process sizable amounts of donor defects, such as Mn interstitials and As antisites, are also introduced into the GaAs host. The magnetic properties of (Ga,Mn)As are altered by the presence of such defects through the compensation effect of the holes. The Mn interstitials are thermally unstable above a certain threshold temperature and therefore their concentration can be controlled by post-growth annealing. The influence of the interfaces on the magnetic moment of FeNi/V and FeNi/Co superlattices has been studied. A decrease of the `FeNi' magnetic moment at the interfaces is observed for FeNi/V superlattices while in case of FeNi/Co an enhanced magnetic moment is obtained at the interfaces. Changes of the interlayer exchange coupling have been studied in a series of Fe/V(Fe) multilayers in which the V spacer was alloyed with small amounts of Fe. The dynamic magnetic properties of discontinuous metal-insulator multilayers of Ni81Fe19/Al2O3 have been investigated. By varying the thickness of the insulator the system exhibits a superferromagnetic, a 3d spin-glass-like and a superparamagnetic behavior.

Nanokristalline Permanentmagnete zeigen ungewöhnliche magnetische Eigenschaften aufgrund von Oberflächen- und Grenzflächeneffekten, die verschieden von denen massiver oder mikrokristalliner Materialien sind. Diese Arbeit zeigt Ergebnisse einer systematischen Untersuchung der Beziehung zwischen Mikrostruktur und magnetischen Eigenschaften von isotropen nanokristallinen (Nd,Pr)(Fe,Co)B-Permanentmagneten. Hochkoerzitive Magnete vom Typ (Nd,Pr)FeB wurden durch hochenergetisches Mahlen in der Kugelmühle oder Rascherstarrung hergestellt. Der Einfluss geringer Mengen von Zusätzen wie Dy und Zr und die Substitution von Nd durch Pr auf die magnetischen Eigenschaften wird dargestellt. Weiterhin wurde eine Einschätzung des Warmumformverhaltens dieser Materialien durchgeführt. Hochenergetisches Kugelmahlen einer Legierung mit der Anfangszusammensetzung Pr9Nd3Dy1Fe72Co8B6.9Zr0.1 führte, nach Glühbehandlung, zu fast einphasigem Magnetpulver mit einem maximalen Energieprodukt von (BH)max~140 kJm-3. Das hochenergetische Kugelmahlen wurde zu einer sehr vielseitigen Technik zur Herstellung hochleistungsfähiger Nanokompositmagnete weiterentwickelt. Das Zulegieren unterschiedlicher Anteile von weichmagnetischem alpha-Fe ist damit sehr effektiv möglich. Der Zusatz von 25 Gew.-% alpha-Fe führt zu einem hohen (BH)max=178kJm-3. Dies wird auf eine sehr effektive Austauschkopplung zwischen den hart- und weichmagnetischen Phasen zurückgeführt. Die Natur der intergranularen Wechselwirkungen kann durch die Wohlfarth´sche Remanenzanalyse (?deltaJ-plot¡§) beschrieben werden. Im speziellen wurden deltaJ-Diagramme für verschiedene (i) alpha-Fe Gehalte, (ii) Korngrößen und (iii) Austauschlängen erstellt. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass in den Nanokompositmagneten auf Pr-Basis keine Spinumorientierung auftritt. Abschließend zeigt die Arbeit die Möglichkeit der Nutzung einer mechanisch aktivierten Gas-Festkörper-Reaktion auf, mit der eine sehr feinkörnige Mikrostruktur erhalten wird. Die Untersuchungen wurden mit stöchiometrischen Nd2(Fe1-xCox)14B-Legierungen begonnen (x=0-1). Die Verbindungen wurden unter höheren Wasserstoffdrücken und Temperaturen gemahlen, wodurch sie zu NdH2+delta und krz-(Fe,Co) (x=0-0.75) oder kfz-Co (x=1) entmischt wurden. Die Korngrößen des rekombinierten Nd2(Co,Fe)14B-Materials liegen im Bereich von 40-50 nm. / Nanocrystalline permanent magnets present unusual magnetic properties because of surface/interface effects different from those of bulk or microcrystalline materials. This work presents results of a systematic investigation of the relationship between microstructure and magnetic properties in isotropic nanocrystalline (Nd,Pr)(Fe,Co)B permanent magnets. Highly coercive (Nd,Pr)FeB-type magnets have been produced using high energy ball milling and melt-spinning. The influence of small amounts of additives, Dy and Zr, and the substitution of Nd by Pr on the microstructural and magnetic properties are shown. An assessment of the hot deformation behaviour has been carried out. Intensive milling of an alloy with starting composition Pr9Nd3Dy1Fe72Co8B6.9Zr0.1 yields, after annealing treatment, nearly single-phase magnet powders with a maximum energy product (BH)max?î140kJm-3. Co has a beneficial effect on the intrinsic magnetic properties but also on the microstructure, with a mean grain size of 20nm. Intensive milling is used to produce high-performance nanocomposite magnets by blending this latter alloy with different fractions of soft magnetic alfa-Fe. Addition of 25wt.% alfa-Fe leads to a high (BH)max=178 kJm-3 due to an effective exchange-coupling between the hard and the soft magnetic phases. The intergrain interactions between the crystallites of the nanocomposite structure are analysed. Demagnetisation recoil loops of the nanocomposite magnets show relatively open minor loops due to the exchange-spring mechanism. Information about the intergrain interactions during demagnetisation are obtained by plotting the deviation of the demagnetising remanence from the Wohlfarth-model (¡§deltaJ-plot¡¨). Exchange-coupling phenomena are studied by analysing the evolution of the corresponding deltaJ values when varying (i) the alfa-Fe content, (ii) the annealing temperature, i.e. the grain size and (iii) the measurement temperature. Low temperature measurements do not reveal any sign of spin reorientation for these Pr-based nanocomposite magnets. The work concludes showing the possibility of using a mechanically activated gas-solid reaction to obtain an effective grain refined microstructure starting from stoichiometric Nd2(Fe1-xCox)14B alloys (x=0-1). These compounds were milled under enhanced hydrogen pressure and temperature leading to their disproportionation into NdH2+delta and bcc-(Fe,Co) (x=0-0.75) or fcc-Co (x=1). Grain sizes of recombined Nd2(Fe,Co)14B materials were found to be 40-50nm.

Phénomènes de spintronique dans les jonctions tunnel magnétiques et des films minces sont très prometteurs des deux points fondamentaux et l'application de vue. Elles sont basées sur l'exploration de spin d'électron en plus de sa charge et comprennent intercalaire couplage d'échange (CEI), l'anisotropie magnétique perpendiculaire (PMA), géante (GMR) et magnétorésistance tunnel (TMR), Couple de transfert de spin (STT), Spin effet Hall (SHE) et même induire du magnétisme dans les éléments non compris d graphène. Cette thèse comprendra premiers principes des études de phénomènes spintronique qui ont été d'un grand intérêt récemment. La première partie est consacrée à intercalaire couplage d'échange à travers les matériaux isolants dont le MgO, SrTiO3, GaAs et ZnSe. La deuxième partie comprendra des études ab initio d'anisotropie magnétique perpendiculaire au Fe | interfaces MgO et MTJ y compris le mécanisme et sa corrélation avec le spin Bloch symétrie Etat fondé de filtrage. Dans les enquêtes troisième partie de l'anisotropie magnétique et la fonction de travail dans les Co | interfaces graphène seront présentés. Ensuite, il sera montré possibilité d'induire et d'optimiser le magnétisme intrinsèque dans nanomeshes graphène. Dernière partie sera consacrée à l'induction de polarisation de spin et le réglage de Dirac point et ordre magnétique dans le graphène à l'aide d'effets de proximité magnétiques substrat. / Spintronic phenomena in magnetic tunnel junctions and thin films are very promising from both fundamental and application points of view. They are based on exploring spin of electron in addition to its charge and include interlayer exchange coupling (IEC), perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), giant (GMR) and tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR), Spin Transfer Torque (STT), Spin Hall Effect (SHE) and even inducing magnetism in non d elements including graphene. This thesis will include first-principles studies of spintronic phenomena which have been of high interest recently. First part is devoted to interlayer exchange coupling across insulating materials including MgO, SrTiO3, GaAs and ZnSe. The second part will include ab initio studies of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy at Fe|MgO interfaces and MTJs including the mechanism and its correlation to the Bloch state symmetry based spin filtering. In third part investigations of magnetic anisotropy and work function in Co|graphene interfaces will be presented. Next, it will be shown possibility of inducing and optimizing intrinsic magnetism in graphene nanomeshes. Final part will be devoted to inducing spin polarization and tuning Dirac point and magnetic order in graphene by means of magnetic substrate proximity effects.

Dans cette thèse, nous avons étudié la dynamique d'aimantation selon deux échelles de temps en utilisant la technique pompe-sonde magnéto-optique résolue en temps. A l'échelle de la picoseconde, la précession de l'aimantation est induite par des impulsions acoustiques dans des structures multicouches composées de deux couches ferromagnétique séparées par une couche métallique (Ni/Au/Py) avec différentes épaisseurs. La synchronisation de la précession des couches ferromagnétiques couplées a été observée. La modification de la précession de l'aimantation d'une couche de Ni est due l'interaction d'échange intercouche avec la couche Py. A l'échelle de 50fs, nous avons étudié la dynamique magnéto-optique cohérente, athermale, thermale et la relaxation des charges et des spins dans (Ni, Co et Fe) par impulsions de 11 fs dans un régime de faible perturbation. L'interaction spin-orbite et l'interaction d'échange jouent un rôle significatif dans la désaimantation ultrarapide. / In this thesis, we have investigated the magnetization dynamics at picosecond and femtosecond time scale using time resolved magneto-optical pump probe technique. At picosecond time scale, the magnetization precession is induced by ultrafast acoustic pulses in a three layered structure with two ferromagnetic layers separated by varying thickness of metallic spacer layer (Ni/Au/Py). The magnetization precession dynamics of the Ni layer is modified due to the interlayer exchange interaction with the Py layer and the synchronized precession of the coupied ferromagnetic layers has been observed. At the timescale of 50fs, coherent magneto-optical, non-thermal, thermal and relaxation dynamics of charges and spins in ferromagnetic transition metals (Ni, Co and Fe) is studied by using 11fs optical pulses in a very low perturbation regime. The spin orbit interaction and exchange interaction play a significant role in the demagnetization of the ferromagnetic metals induced by femtosecond pulses.

Dans ce travail, nous nous intéressons à l’étude des propriétés structurales et magnétiques de films déposés sur des substrats de silicium et de verre, qui sont : Fe85Pd15, Fe80Pd20, Fe64Pd36 et Fe56Pd44, ainsi qu’aux corrélations qui peuvent être déduites de ces propriétés. Ces films minces sont élaborés par la technique d’évaporation thermique par effet Joule. Par ailleurs, ces films ont été analysés par plusieurs techniques, à savoir: la diffraction des rayons X (DRX), la microscopie électronique à balayage (MBE), la microscopie à force atomique (AFM), la spectrométrie Mössbauer, la magnétométrie SQUID, la magnétométrie à gradient de champ alternatif (AGFM) et la microscopie à force magnétique (MFM). L’analyse de DRX a révélé que les échantillons Fe80Pd20, Fe64Pd36 sont bi-phasiques et constitués d’une phase (Fe,Pd)-α cubique centrée (cc) et d’une phase FePd cubique à faces centrées (cfc). Par ailleurs, les échantillons Fe85Pd15 et Fe56Pd44 se sont avérés monophasiques et formés de la phase (Fe, Pd)-α, et de la phase FePd respectivement. Concernant les alliages, Fe85Pd15, Fe80Pd20et Fe64Pd36, nous avons trouvé, que la phase (Fe, Pd)-α se saturait à 20 % de Pd; et la phase ‘FePd’ apparaissait à ce même pourcentage. Ensuite, l’alliage Fe56Pd44 déposé sur le silicium a subit un recuit isotherme, à 550°C à différents temps de maintien, dans le but d’induire une transformation de la phase FePd désordonnée en la phase L10FePd ordonnée. La variation, en fonction du temps, de la fraction transformée de la phase ordonnée, révélée par la DRX et le SQUID, s’est avérée obéir à la loi d’Avrami. Concernant les propriétés magnétiques, nous avons trouvé que l’alliage Fe64Pd36, était également le siège de la transformation de la phase FePd désordonnée en la phase L10FePd ordonnée. Cette transformation est marquée par l’existence d’un couplage d’échange entre la phase douce (Fe, Pd)-α et la phase dure L10FePd. Ce phénomène a été mis en évidence par plusieurs techniques révélant, par exemple, la forme du cycle d’hystérésis caractérisée par un champ coercitif élevé et une aimantation à saturation élevée. / In this work, we are interested in the study of the structural and magnetic properties of thin films deposited on silicon and glass substrates which are: Fe85Pd15, Fe80Pd20, Fe64Pd36 and Fe56Pd44, as well as in the correlations which can be deduced from these properties. These thin films are prepared using the thermal evaporation technique by Joule effect. Moreover, these films have been analyzed by several techniques, namely: X-rays diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Mössbauer spectrometry, SQUID magnetometer, alternating field gradient magnetometer (AFGM) and magnetic force microscopy (MFM). The XRD analysis revealed that the Fe80Pd20 and Fe64Pd36 samples are biphasic, and present a body centered cubic (bcc) α-(Fe, Pd) and a face centered cubic (fcc) FePd structure respectively. Furthermore, the samples Fe85Pd15 and Fe56Pd44 were observed to be monophasic and formed of a body centered cubic α-(Fe, Pd) phase and a face centered cubic FePd phase respectively. Concerning the Fe85Pd15, Fe80Pd20 and Fe64Pd36 alloys, we found that the α-(Fe, Pd) phase saturated at 20% of Pd and that the FePd phase appeared at this same concentration. Then, the Fe56Pd44 alloy deposited on silicon substrates was subjected to isothermal annealing, at 550 ° C for different holding times, in order to induce a transformation of the disordered FePd phase into the ordered L10FePd phase. The variation, as a function of time, of the transformed fraction of the ordered phase, revealed by XRD and SQUID, was found to obey to Avrami's law. Concerning the magnetic properties, we have found that the Fe64Pd36 alloy was also observed to present a transformation of the disordered FePd phase into the ordered L10FePd phase. This transformation is marked by the existence of an exchange coupling between the soft α-(Fe, Pd) phase and the hard L10FePd phase. This phenomenon has been confirmed by several techniques revealing, for instance, the shape of the hysteresis cycle characterized by a high coercive field and a high saturation magnetization.

<div>The response time of magnetization switching in current spintronic devices is limited to nanosecond timescales due to the precessional motion of the magnetization during reversal. To overcome this limit two routes of investigation leading to novel recording and logic devices are considered in this thesis: 1) Magnetic tunnel junction structures where the recording and reference layers are replaced by synthetic ferrimagnets and switching is induced by spin transfer torque and 2) Hybrid magneto-photonic devices where switching is induced by plasmon-enhanced all-optical switching. To circumvent limitations of the materials and magnetic properties of CoFeB, the most utilized alloy in spintronics, hcp-CoCrPt, a material that exhibits superior perpendicular anisotropy and thermal stability, is chosen as the ferromagnetic electrode in this work. Whereas actual devices based on the two schemes aforementioned are still in the process of being fabricated, through collaborative work with our international collaborators, this thesis describes fundamental magnetic and structural characterization needed for the realization of said ultrafast switching devices. The magnetic switching behavior of CoCrPt-Ru-CoCrPt synthetic ferrimagnets with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy have been studied in the temperature range from 2K to 300K. It was found that two sets of magnetic transitions occur in the CoCrPt-Ru-CoCrPt ferrimagnet systems studied. The first set exhibits three magnetization states in the 50K – 370K range, whereas the second involves only two states in the 2K and 50K range. The magnetic hysteresis curves of the synthetic ferrimagnet are assessed using an energy diagram technique which accurately describes the competition between interlayer exchange coupling energy, Zeeman energy, and anisotropy energy in the system. This energy diagram analysis is then used to predict the changes in the magnetic hysteresis curves of the synthetic ferrimagnet from 200K to 370K. This represents the potential operation temperature extrema that a synthetic ferrimagnet could be expected to operate at, were it to be utilized as a free layer in a memory or sensor spintronic device in the device configuration described in this dissertation.</div><div>Circularly polarized fs laser pulses generate large opto-magnetic fields in magnetic materials, through the inverse Faraday effect. These fields are attributed to be largely responsible for achieving ultrafast all-optical magnetization switching (AOS). All experimental demonstrations of AOS thus far have been realized on thin films over micron-sized irradiated regions. To achieve magnetization switching speeds in the ps and potentially fs time regimes, this work proposes the use of surface plasmon resonances at the interface of hybrid magneto-photonic heterostructures. In addition to the ability of plasmon resonances to confine light in the nm scale, the resonant excitation can largely enhance induced opto-magnetic fields in perpendicular magnetic anisotropy materials. This requires strong spin-photon coupling between the plasmonic and the magnetic materials, which thus requires the minimization of seed layers used for growth of the magnetic layer. This work reports on the development of ultrathin (1 nm thick) interlayers to control the growth orientation of hcp-Co alloys grown on the refractory plasmonic material, TiN, to align the magnetic axis out-of-plane. CoCrPtTa seed layers down to 1 nm were developed to seed the growth of CoCrPt, and the dependence of the quality of the CoCrPt is investigated as Ta composition is varied in the seed layer. Whereas bismuth iron garnet (BIG) meets the magneto-optical requirements for a hybrid magneto-photonic material, its magnetic and structural properties are highly sensitive to the Bi:Fe ratio and must be grown epitaxially on single crystalline substrates. Therefore, in this work we have investigated alternative materials that offer superior magnetic properties and are amenable to growth on inexpensive substrates. Opto-magnetic field enhancements up to 2.6x in Co-ferrite magneto-photonic heterostructures have been obtained via finite element analysis modelling. Alternative materials for plasmon-enhanced all-optical switching such as Co/Pd multilayers have also been investigated. Successful growth of Co/Pd multilayers on TiN using ultrathin Ti interlayers has been achieved. </div><div><br></div>

Nanokristalline Permanentmagnete zeigen ungewöhnliche magnetische Eigenschaften aufgrund von Oberflächen- und Grenzflächeneffekten, die verschieden von denen massiver oder mikrokristalliner Materialien sind. Diese Arbeit zeigt Ergebnisse einer systematischen Untersuchung der Beziehung zwischen Mikrostruktur und magnetischen Eigenschaften von isotropen nanokristallinen (Nd,Pr)(Fe,Co)B-Permanentmagneten. Hochkoerzitive Magnete vom Typ (Nd,Pr)FeB wurden durch hochenergetisches Mahlen in der Kugelmühle oder Rascherstarrung hergestellt. Der Einfluss geringer Mengen von Zusätzen wie Dy und Zr und die Substitution von Nd durch Pr auf die magnetischen Eigenschaften wird dargestellt. Weiterhin wurde eine Einschätzung des Warmumformverhaltens dieser Materialien durchgeführt. Hochenergetisches Kugelmahlen einer Legierung mit der Anfangszusammensetzung Pr9Nd3Dy1Fe72Co8B6.9Zr0.1 führte, nach Glühbehandlung, zu fast einphasigem Magnetpulver mit einem maximalen Energieprodukt von (BH)max~140 kJm-3. Das hochenergetische Kugelmahlen wurde zu einer sehr vielseitigen Technik zur Herstellung hochleistungsfähiger Nanokompositmagnete weiterentwickelt. Das Zulegieren unterschiedlicher Anteile von weichmagnetischem alpha-Fe ist damit sehr effektiv möglich. Der Zusatz von 25 Gew.-% alpha-Fe führt zu einem hohen (BH)max=178kJm-3. Dies wird auf eine sehr effektive Austauschkopplung zwischen den hart- und weichmagnetischen Phasen zurückgeführt. Die Natur der intergranularen Wechselwirkungen kann durch die Wohlfarth´sche Remanenzanalyse (?deltaJ-plot¡§) beschrieben werden. Im speziellen wurden deltaJ-Diagramme für verschiedene (i) alpha-Fe Gehalte, (ii) Korngrößen und (iii) Austauschlängen erstellt. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass in den Nanokompositmagneten auf Pr-Basis keine Spinumorientierung auftritt. Abschließend zeigt die Arbeit die Möglichkeit der Nutzung einer mechanisch aktivierten Gas-Festkörper-Reaktion auf, mit der eine sehr feinkörnige Mikrostruktur erhalten wird. Die Untersuchungen wurden mit stöchiometrischen Nd2(Fe1-xCox)14B-Legierungen begonnen (x=0-1). Die Verbindungen wurden unter höheren Wasserstoffdrücken und Temperaturen gemahlen, wodurch sie zu NdH2+delta und krz-(Fe,Co) (x=0-0.75) oder kfz-Co (x=1) entmischt wurden. Die Korngrößen des rekombinierten Nd2(Co,Fe)14B-Materials liegen im Bereich von 40-50 nm. / Nanocrystalline permanent magnets present unusual magnetic properties because of surface/interface effects different from those of bulk or microcrystalline materials. This work presents results of a systematic investigation of the relationship between microstructure and magnetic properties in isotropic nanocrystalline (Nd,Pr)(Fe,Co)B permanent magnets. Highly coercive (Nd,Pr)FeB-type magnets have been produced using high energy ball milling and melt-spinning. The influence of small amounts of additives, Dy and Zr, and the substitution of Nd by Pr on the microstructural and magnetic properties are shown. An assessment of the hot deformation behaviour has been carried out. Intensive milling of an alloy with starting composition Pr9Nd3Dy1Fe72Co8B6.9Zr0.1 yields, after annealing treatment, nearly single-phase magnet powders with a maximum energy product (BH)max?î140kJm-3. Co has a beneficial effect on the intrinsic magnetic properties but also on the microstructure, with a mean grain size of 20nm. Intensive milling is used to produce high-performance nanocomposite magnets by blending this latter alloy with different fractions of soft magnetic alfa-Fe. Addition of 25wt.% alfa-Fe leads to a high (BH)max=178 kJm-3 due to an effective exchange-coupling between the hard and the soft magnetic phases. The intergrain interactions between the crystallites of the nanocomposite structure are analysed. Demagnetisation recoil loops of the nanocomposite magnets show relatively open minor loops due to the exchange-spring mechanism. Information about the intergrain interactions during demagnetisation are obtained by plotting the deviation of the demagnetising remanence from the Wohlfarth-model (¡§deltaJ-plot¡¨). Exchange-coupling phenomena are studied by analysing the evolution of the corresponding deltaJ values when varying (i) the alfa-Fe content, (ii) the annealing temperature, i.e. the grain size and (iii) the measurement temperature. Low temperature measurements do not reveal any sign of spin reorientation for these Pr-based nanocomposite magnets. The work concludes showing the possibility of using a mechanically activated gas-solid reaction to obtain an effective grain refined microstructure starting from stoichiometric Nd2(Fe1-xCox)14B alloys (x=0-1). These compounds were milled under enhanced hydrogen pressure and temperature leading to their disproportionation into NdH2+delta and bcc-(Fe,Co) (x=0-0.75) or fcc-Co (x=1). Grain sizes of recombined Nd2(Fe,Co)14B materials were found to be 40-50nm.

Anti-ferromagnetic interlayer exchange coupling between iron layers in Fe/MgO superlatices have recently been of interest among researchers for its potential application in 3D memory storage in computers (hard drives) and in the research field of spintronics. Thinfilms and bi-layers between the 10-100 ångström range in thicknesses were analyzed for its resistive properties during different conditions. Both mono-layers and superlatices were experimented with.The resistivity of the films was measured with both the four-probe method and the Van der Pauw method. Because of mechanical limitations with respect to the direction of the external magnetic field, the Van der Pauw method had to be used for the superlattice measurements. The collected data from all the measurments of the superlattice suggest that the electric current is not only passing the capping layer of the lattice but did not however show any sign of resisitive properties changing with changing magnetic profile. The resistivity of thesuperlattice was similar to that of the resistivity calculated from data when the external magnetic field was off. The results from this study show for the first time that it is possible to measure the electronic transport within an Fe/MgO superlattice which provides a basis for futher investigations.

No description available.