Evolution of magnetic domain structure of martensite in Ni–Mn–Ga films under the interplay of the temperature and magnetic field

Ferromagnetic shape memory Ni-Mn-Ga films with 7M modulated structure were prepared on MgO （001） substrates by magnetron sputtering. Magnetization process with a typical two-hysteresis loop indicates the occurrence of the reversible magnetic field-induced reorientation. Magnetic domain structure and twin structure of the film were controlled by the in- terplay of the magnetic and temperature field. With cooling under an out-of-plane magnetic field, the evolution of magnetic domain structure reveals that martensitic transformation could be divided into two periods： nucleation and growth. With an in-plane magnetic field applied to a thermomagnetic-treated film, the evolution of magnetic domain structure gives evidence of a reorientation of twin variants of martensite. A microstructural model is described to define the twin structure and to produce the magnetic domain structure at the beginning of martensitic transformation; based on this model, the relationship between the twin structure and the magnetic domain structure for the treated film under an in-plane field is also described.

Evolution of Magnetic Domain Structure in a YIG Thin Film

The evolution of a magnetic domain structure induced by temperature and magnetic field is reported in silicon- doped yttrium iron garnet （YIG） films with perpendicular anisotropy. During a cooling-down procedure from 300K to 7K, a 20% change in the domain width is observed, with the long tails of the stripes being shortened and the twisting stripes being straightened. Under the influence of the stray field of a barium ferrite, the garnet presents an interesting domain structure, which shows an appearance of branching protrusions. The intrinsic mechanisms in these two processes are also discussed.

Relationship between crystal growth mode, preferred orientation and magnetostriction of (Tb_(0.3)Dy_(0.7))Fe_(1.95) alloys

The relationship between crystal growth mode, preferred orientation and magnetostrictive properties of （Tb0.3Dy0.7）Fe1.95 alloys was investigated at different directional solidification rates. The results showed that preferred orientation had a strong influence on the characteristics of （Tb0.3Dy0.7）Fe1.95 alloys. At lower solidification rates, the sample with 〈110〉 preferred orientation showed larger low-field magnetostriction and apparent compressive stress effect. The excessive solidification rate resulted in failure of preferred orientation and a poor magnetostrictive performance. With an increase in solidification rates, the crystal growth modes changed gradually from cellular and primary dendrite morphology to developed dendritic morphology. In addition, domain configurations were observed using magnetic force microscopy, and the change of magnetostrictive properties was interpreted in terms of revealing the domain configurations.

Microstructure and magnetostrictive behavior of Fe-15 at% Ga alloy with different cooling rates

The main attention of this paper was devoted to the study of the effect of different cooling rates on the magnetic domain configuration and magnetostrictive behavior of heat-treated Fe-15 at% Ga alloy. After annealing at 1,000℃ for 3 h, the samples were subjected to water quenching, air cooling, and furnace cooling treatments. Phase constitution and magnetic domain structures of the samples were studied using X-ray diffraction （XRD） and magnetic force microscopy （MFM）. XRD results indicate a single phase of α-Fe with disordered bcc （A2） structure for all samples. MFM results show that both water-quenched （WQ） and air-cooled （AC） samples are mainly made from ordered stripe domain structures, whereas a mixture of irregular stripe, zigzag, and plate domain patterns are observed in furnace-cooled （FC） sample. Magnetostrictive strain was measured in the presence of an extemally applied magnetic field. It is found that WQ sample has the highest magnetostriction, while AC and FC samples exhibit moderate and the lowest magnetostriction, respectively, against the applied field. The dependence of initial domain configurations on thermal history is found to be conducive to the change in saturation magnetostrictions of the samples.

Microstructure of polycrystalline Fe_(82)Ga_(18) sample with solidification texture

Main attention of this paper was devoted to studying the effect of solidification texture on microstructure（phase constituents,grain morphology,and magnetic domain structure） of polycrystalline Fe_（82）Ga_（18） sample.The alloy was melted using button arc melting and solidified in water-cooled copper mold.Optical microscope（OM） results confirm the development of large columnar grains in the solidification microstructure.Phase constitution and magnetic domain structures of the sample were studied by X-ray diffraction（XRD） and magnetic force microscopy（MFM）.Results show a single-phase solid solution with an A2 structure for the sample which consists of regularly aligned magnetic domains.Although some maze-like subdomains are found in few regions,well-aligned stripe-like domains are predominant patterns in the sample.It demonstrates the high dependence of grain morphology and magnetic domain structure upon a preferred crystallographic direction during solidification.