TY - JOUR
AU - Chen, Xinfeng
AU - Higashikozono, Soma
AU - Ito, Keita
AU - Jin, Lei
AU - Ho, Ping-Luen
AU - Yu, Chu-Ping
AU - Tai, Nyan-Hwa
AU - Mayer, Joachim
AU - Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E.
AU - Suemasu, Takashi
AU - Zhong, Xiaoyan
TI - Nanoscale measurement of giant saturation magnetization in α″-Fe16N2 by electron energy-loss magnetic chiral dichroism
JO - Ultramicroscopy
VL - 203
SN - 0304-3991
CY - Amsterdam
PB - Elsevier Science
M1 - FZJ-2020-02975
SP - 37 - 43
PY - 2019
AB - Metastable α″-Fe16N2 thin films were reported to have a giant saturation magnetization of above 2200 emu/cm3 in 1972 and have been considered as candidates for next-generation rare-earth-free permanent magnetic materials. However, their magnetic properties have not been confirmed unequivocally. As a result of the limited spatial resolution of most magnetic characterization techniques, it is challenging to measure the saturation magnetization of the α″-Fe16N2 phase, as it is often mixed with the parent α′-Fe8N phase in thin films. Here, we use electron energy-loss magnetic chiral dichroism (EMCD), aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and macroscopic magnetic measurements to study α″-Fe16N2 (containing ordered N atoms) and α′-Fe8N (containing disordered N atoms). The ratio of saturation magnetization in α″-Fe16N2 to that in α′-Fe8N is determined to be 1.31 ± 0.10 from quantitative EMCD measurements and dynamical diffraction calculations, confirming the giant saturation magnetization of α″-Fe16N2. Crystallographic information is also obtained about the two phases, which are mixed on the nanoscale.
LB - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
C6 - pmid:30862364
UR - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000465021000005
DO - DOI:10.1016/j.ultramic.2019.02.016
UR - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/878654
ER -