Stoner-Wohlfarth Theory

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Transcript Stoner-Wohlfarth Theory

Stoner-Wohlfarth Theory

“A Mechanism of Magnetic Hysteresis in Heterogenous Alloys” Stoner E C and Wohlfarth E P (1948), Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. A240:599–642

Prof. Bill Evenson, Utah Valley University

E.C. Stoner, c. 1934 Courtesy of AIP Emilio Segre Visual Archives June 2010 E. C. Stoner, F.R.S.

and E. P. Wohlfarth (no photo) (Note: F.R.S. = “Fellow of the Royal Society”) TU-Chemnitz 2

Stoner-Wohlfarth Motivation   How to account for very high coercivities  Domain wall motion cannot explain How to deal with small magnetic particles (e.g. grains or imbedded magnetic clusters in an alloy or mixture)  Sufficiently small particles can only have a single domain June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 3

Hysteresis loop TU-Chemnitz

M r

= Remanence

M s

= Saturation Magnetization

H c

= Coercivity 4 June 2010

Domain Walls  Weiss proposed the existence of magnetic domains in 1906 1907  What elementary evidence suggests these structures?

www.cms.tuwien.ac.at/Nanoscience/Magnetism/magnetic domains/magnetic_domains.htm

TU-Chemnitz 5 June 2010

Stoner-Wohlfarth Problem    Single domain particles (too small for domain walls) Magnetization of a particle is uniform and of constant magnitude Magnetization of a particle responds to external magnetic field and anisotropy energy June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 6

Not Stoner Theory of Band Ferromagnetism The Stoner-Wohlfarth theory of hysteresis does not refer to the Stoner (or Stoner-Slater) theory of band ferromagnetism or to such terms as “Stoner criterion”, “Stoner excitations”, etc.

June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 7

Small magnetic particles June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 8

Why are we interested? (since 1948!)

Magnetic nanostructures!

Can be single domain, uniform/constant magnetization, no long-range order between particles, anisotropic.

June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 9

Physics in SW Theory      Classical e & m (demagnetization fields, dipole) Weiss molecular field (exchange) Ellipsoidal particles for shape anisotropy Phenomenological magnetocrystalline and strain anisotropies Energy minimization June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 10

Outline of SW 1948 (1)  1. Introduction   review of existing theories of domain wall motion (energy, process, effect of internal stress variations, effect of changing domain wall area – especially due to nonmagnetic inclusions) critique of boundary movement theory  Alternative process: rotation of single domains (small magnetic particles – superparamagnetism) – roles of magneto crystalline, strain, and shape anisotropies June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 11

Outline of SW 1948 (2)  2. Field Dependence of Magnetization Direction of a Uniformly Magnetized Ellipsoid – shape anisotropy    3. Computational Details 4. Prolate Spheroid Case 5. Oblate Spheroid and General Ellipsoid June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 12

Outline of SW 1948 (3)   6. Conditions for Single Domain Ellipsoidal Particles 7. Physical Implications  types of magnetic anisotropy  magnetocrystalline, strain, shape  ferromagnetic materials    metals & alloys containing FM impurities powder magnets high coercivity alloys June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 13

Units, Terminology, Notation E.g.

 Gaussian e-m units  1 Oe = 1000/4 π × A/m   Older terminology  “interchange interaction energy” = “exchange interaction energy” Older notation 

I

0 = magnetization vector June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 14

Mathematical Starting Point   Applied field energy

E H

 

HI

0 cos  Anisotropy energy 

E A

Total energy

E

E H

E A

(what should we use?) (later, drop constants) June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 15

MAGNETIC ANISOTROPY         Shape anisotropy (dipole interaction) Strain anisotropy Magnetocrystalline anisotropy Surface anisotropy Interface anisotropy Chemical ordering anisotropy Spin-orbit interaction Local structural anisotropy June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 16

Ellipsoidal particles This gives shape anisotropy – from demagnetizing fields (to be discussed later if there is time).

TU-Chemnitz Spherical particles would not have shape anisotropy, but would have magnetocrystalline and strain anisotropy – leading to the same physics with redefined parameters.

17 June 2010

Ellipsoidal particles We will look at one ellipsoidal particle, then average over a random orientation of particles.

TU-Chemnitz The transverse components of mag netization will cancel, and the net magnetiza tion can be calculated as the component along the applied field direction.

18 June 2010

Demagnetizing fields → anisotropy June 2010 

B

 

H

 4  

M

,   

B

 0 , TU-Chemnitz   

H

   from Bertotti 

M

19

Prolate and Oblate Spheroids These show all the essential physics of the more general ellipsoid.

June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 20

How do we get hysteresis?

I

0 Easy Axis

H

June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 21

SW Fig. 1 – important notation One can prove (SW outline the proof in Sec. 5(ii)) that for ellipsoids of revolution H, I a plane.

0 , and the easy axis all lie in June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 22

No hysteresis for oblate case

I

0

H

360 o Easy Axis degenerate June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 23

Mathematical Starting Point - again    Applied field energy

E H

 

HI

0 cos  Anisotropy energy

E A

 1 2

I

0 2 

N a

cos 2  Total energy

E

E H

E A

N b

sin 2   (later, drop constants) June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 24

Dimensionless variables Total energy: normalize to drop constant term.

N b

N a

I

0 2 and Dimensionless energy is then    1 4 cos 2  

h

cos 

h

 

N b

H N a

I

0 TU-Chemnitz June 2010 25

Energy surface for fixed θ θ = 10 o June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 26

Stationary points (max & min) θ = 10 o June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 27

SW Fig. 2 June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 28

SW Fig. 3 June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 29

Examples in Maple June 2010 (This would be easy to do with Mathematica, also.) [SW_Lectures_energy_surfaces.mw] TU-Chemnitz 30

Calculating the Hysteresis Loop June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 31

June 2010 TU-Chemnitz from Blundell 32

SW Fig. 6 June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 33

Examples in Maple June 2010 [SW_Lectures_hysteresis.mw] TU-Chemnitz 34

H sw and H c June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 35

Hysteresis Loops: 0-45 o – symmetries and 45-90 o June 2010 TU-Chemnitz from Blundell 36

Hysteresis loop for θ = 90 o June 2010 TU-Chemnitz from Jiles 37

Hysteresis loop for θ = 0 o June 2010 TU-Chemnitz from Jiles 38

Hysteresis loop for θ = 45 o June 2010 TU-Chemnitz from Jiles 39

Average over Orientations cos  

I H I

0     2 2  0 cos   0 2 2   sin sin 

d

 

d

  0  2 cos  sin 

d

 June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 40

SW Fig. 7 June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 41

Part 2

1.

Conditions for large coercivity 2.

Applied field 3.

Various forms of magnetic anisotropy 4.

Conditions for single-domain ellipsoidal particles June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 42

Demagnetization Coefficients: large H

c

possible

m=a/b I

0 ~10 3

h

 

N b

H N a

I

0 SW Fig. 8 June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 43

Applied Field, H  Important!

This is the total field experienced by an individual particle.

It must include the field due to the magnetizations of all the other particles around the one we calculate!

June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 44

Magnetic Anisotropy   Regardless of the origin of the anisotropy energy, the basic physics is approximately the same as we have calculated for prolate spheroids.

This is explicitly true for  Shape anisotropy   Magnetocrystalline anisotropy (uniaxial) Strain anisotropy June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 45

Demagnetizing Field Energy  Energetics of magnetic media are very subtle.

  

H d

   

M

H d

is the “demagnetizing field” from Blundell June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 46

Demagnetizing fields → anisotropy June 2010 

B

 

H

 4  

M

,   

B

 0 , TU-Chemnitz   

H

   from Bertotti 

M

47

 How does depend on shape?

d

H d

is extremely complicated for arbitrarily shaped ferromagnets, but relatively simple for ellipsoidal ones.

H di

  

j N ij M j

And in principal axis coordinate system for the ellipsoid, June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 48

Ellipsoids

N

Tr Tr 

N

     

N a

0 0

N a N

 1  0

N

0

b N b

 (SI units) 0 0

N c N c

      4  (Gaussian units) June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 49

Examples  Sphere

N a

N b

N c

 4  3 ,  Long cylindrical rod

N a

N b

 2  ,

N c

 0 

H d

  4  3 

M

 Flat plate

N a

N b

 0 ,

N c

 4  June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 50

Ferromagnet of Arbitrary Shape

E d E tot

   1 2

V

 

M E Zeeman

 

H d

E d d

 June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 51

Ellipsoids (again)  General

E d

  1 2

I

0 2 

N a

cos 2 

x

N b

cos 2 

y

N c

cos 2 

z

 

E d E d

Prolate spheroid    

E d

 1 2 1 2 1 4

I

0 2

I

0 2  

N N I

 0 2  

N

2 1

a a

cos 2 ( 90   ) 

c I

sin 0 2   2

N N a a

 

N

N

 cos

c

c

2  cos 2

N

b

 cos 2 TU-Chemnitz 90 

N c

cos 2   June 2010 52

Magnetocrystalline Anisotropy  Uniaxial case is approximately the same mathematics as prolate spheroid. E.g. hexagonal cobalt:

E A h mc

K

sin 2  

HI

0 2

K

 1

K

 1

K

cos 2  2 2 For spherical, single domain particles of Co with easy axes oriented at random, coercivities ~2900 Oe. are possible.

June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 53

Strain Anisotropy  Uniaxial strain – again, approximately the same mathematics as prolate spheroid. E.g. magnetostriction coefficient λ, uniform tension σ:

E A

 3 2  sin 2   3 4   3 4  cos 2 

h

 

HI

3  0 June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 54

Magnitudes of Anisotropies    Prolate spheroids of Fe (m = a/b)  shape > mc for m > 1.05

 shape > σ for m > 1.08

Prolate spheroids of Ni  shape > mc for m > 1.09

σ > shape for all m (large λ, small I 0 ) Prolate spheroids of Co   shape > mc for m > 3 shape > σ for m > 1.08

June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 55

Conditions for Single Domain Ellipsoidal Particles  Number of atoms must be  large enough for ferromagnetic order within the particle  small enough so that domain boundary formation is not energetically possible June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 56

Domain Walls (Bloch walls)  Energies   Exchange energy: costs energy to rotate   so 2

J

Rotation of N spins through total angle π ,  

S

 1  

S

/ 2

N

  2

JS

2 cos  , requires energy per unit area 

ex

JS

2 

Na

2 2 .

Anisotropy energy June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 57

Domain Walls (2)  Anisotropy energy: magnetocrystalline easy axis vs. hard axis (from spin-orbit interaction and partial quenching of angular momentum) shape demagnetizing energy It costs energy to rotate out of the easy direction: say,

E

K

sin 2  .

June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 58

Domain Walls (3)  Anisotropy energy Taking

E

K

sin 2  , 

an

NKa

, 2 so 

BW

for example, 

JS

2 

Na

2 2 

NKa

.

2 June 2010 Then we minimize energy to find

N

 

S

2

J Ka

3 ,  

Na

 

S

2

J Ka

, 

BW

 

S

2

JK a

.

TU-Chemnitz 59

Conditions for Single Domain Ellipsoidal Particles (2)  Demagnetizing field energy

E D

 1 2

N a I

0 2  Uniform magnetization if E

D < E wall

 Fe: 10 5 – 10 6 atoms  Ni: 10 7 – 10 11 atoms June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 60

Thanks  Friends at Uni-Konstanz, where this work was first carried out – some of this group are now at TU-Chemnitz  Prof. Manfred Albrecht for invitation, hospitality and support June 2010 TU-Chemnitz 61