Abstract
First-principles calculations are carried out to study the magnetic hardening of (Formula presented) multilayers. The multilayer stacking along the c axis of the hexagonal hard phase (Formula presented) and the (111) direction of the fcc soft phase (Formula presented) is well matched structurally. The self-consistent spin-polarized electronic structure results are used to calculate the magnetic moments and the exchange interaction parameters. The average magnetic moments of the soft (Formula presented) and hard phases are (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) per atom, respectively. A continuum model of the periodically layered hard/soft composite predicts the optimum thickness of the soft phase to be approximately 13 nm independent of the thickness of the hard phase. Calculated exchange parameters predict the Curie temperature of the hard/soft system to be between the values for each phase (1000-1388 K) depending on the relative thicknesses of the two phases. The optimum theoretical limit to the energy product of the composite is ∼65 MGOe, which is almost twice the value for the hard phase.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 12071-12074 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics |
Volume | 58 |
Issue number | 18 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1998 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Condensed Matter Physics