C. Gómez-Polo

Giant magneto-impedance effect in nanostructured magnetic wires

The giant magneto‐impedance effect (GMI) is studied as a function of the structural modification induced in an Fe73.5Si13.5B9Cu1Nb3 amorphous alloy wire by annealing. The values of GMI are correlated to those structural changes and with the corresponding variation of the magnetic properties and intrinsic resistivity. Excellent soft magnetic properties, associated with low resistivity values, make this nanostructured material as one of the most promising for future applications of the GMI effect. The tailoring of the structure which can be induced by adequate thermal treatments easily allows one to obtain excellent combinations of circumferential permeability μφ and resistivity ρ during different devitrification stages, in order to produce materials for specific aims. Maximum GMI ratios of 200% are found after annealing the wires in the range 550–600 °C, where an optimum compromise between μφ and ρ is found. A simple model is developed correlating the fundamental physical properties of the soft magnetic wi...

Magnetic bistability of amorphous wires and sensor applications

In this work, the general features concerning the bistable magnetic behaviour of amorphous wires are first introduced. Then, some new results related with the switching mechanism wall and the involved domain wall propagation are presented which allow us to get deeper knowledge of the actual magnetization reversal process. Based on these new findings, some applications are envisaged. In particular the following applications are described: magnetoelastic sensors using the Matteucci and the inverse Wiedemann effects, size reduced pulse generators and magnetic switches using bent magnetostrictive amorphous wires, encoders with non-magnetostrictive amorphous wires as sensing elements and magnetic field detectors. >

Effect of a SiO2 coating on the magnetic properties of Fe3O4 nanoparticles

In this work the effect of a SiO2 coating on the magnetic properties of Fe3O4 nanoparticles obtained by the sol-gel method is analyzed. Two sets of samples were prepared: Fe3O4 nanoparticles and Fe3O4@SiO2 core-shell composites. The samples display the characteristic spinel structure associated with the magnetite Fe3O4 phase, with the majority of grain sizes around 5-10 nm. At room temperature the nanoparticles show the characteristic superparamagnetic behavior with mean blocking temperatures around 160 and 120 K for Fe3O4 and Fe3O4@SiO2, respectively. The main effect of the SiO2 coating is reflected in the temperature dependence of the high field magnetization (μ(0)H = 6 T), i.e. deviations from the Bloch law at low temperatures (T < 20 K). Such deviations, enhanced by the introduction of the SiO2 coating, are associated with the occurrence of surface spin disordered effects. The induction heating effects (magnetic hyperthermia) are analyzed under the application of an AC magnetic field. Maximum specific absorption rate (SAR) values around 1.5 W g(-1) were achieved for the Fe3O4 nanoparticles. A significant decrease (around 26%) is found in the SAR values of the SiO2 coated nanocomposite. The different heating response is analyzed in terms of the decrease of the effective nanoparticle magnetization in the Fe3O4@SiO2 core-shell composites at room temperature.

Rotational giant magnetoimpedance in soft magnetic wires: Modelization through Fourier harmonic contribution

A method to investigate the giant magnetoimpedance effect based on Fourier analysis is introduced. The study is carried out on a FeCoSiB amorphous wire with vanishing magnetostriction subjected to joule heating (current annealing) treatment that induces an enhancement of circumferential magnetic anisotropy and modifies the magnetoimpedance response of the samples. Experimental results are interpreted within the framework of the classical electrodynamical model, where the circumferential permeability plays the dominant role in the field dependence of the complex impedance of the sample. A rotational magnetization model is employed to determine the circular magnetization process, and a mean value of the circumferential permeability is obtained through the harmonic components obtained through Fourier analysis of the time derivative of the circular magnetization. This simple model is able to reproduce the observed experimental behavior, i.e., evolution of the field dependence of the complex impedance with ann...

Magnetocaloric effect in Ni–Fe–Ga shape memory alloys

The magnetic entropy change in three different polycrystalline Ni53+xFe20−xGa27 (x=0.5,1,2) alloys was analyzed as a function of temperature under different applied magnetic fields. The temperature dependence of the ac magnetic susceptibility (χ) and the magnetization of the alloys have been used to characterize the different structural and magnetic transformations. In spite of the different magnetic states, the alloys show comparable magnetic entropy values. For x⩽1 the martensitic transformation takes place in the ferromagnetic state for measuring temperatures below room temperature, whereas the alloy with x=2 displays the martensitic transformation above room temperature between two paramagnetic phases. Maximum values of the magnetic entropy change are correlated with the martensitic transformation, irrespective of the particular magnetic state (ferromagnetic or paramagnetic) during the transformation.

Magnetotunable left-handed FeSiB ferromagnetic microwires.

The magnetotunable left-handed characteristics of Fe(77.5)Si(12.5)B(10) glass-coated ferromagnetic microwires are analyzed in array and single microwire configuration, employing a rectangular waveguide working in X band. While the negative permeability is ascribed to the natural ferromagnetic resonance (NFMR) of the highly and positive magnetostrictive microwire, the negative permittivity features of the medium are attributed to the interaction of the microwires with the metallic rectangular waveguide. The dependence of the NFMR frequency on the applied external magnetic field enables the design of magnetotunable left-handed systems with wide-frequency band.

Room temperature ferromagnetism in non-magnetic doped TiO2 nanoparticles

Room-temperature ferromagnetism in non-magnetic doped TiO2 semiconductor nanoparticles is analyzed in the present work. Undoped and N-doped TiO2 nanoparticles were obtained employing sol-gel procedure using urea as the nitrogen source. The obtained gels were first dried at 70 °C and afterwards calcined in air at 300 °C. A residual carbon concentration was retained in the samples as a consequence of the organic decomposition process. Post-annealing treatments at 300 °C under air and vacuum conditions were also performed. The crystallographic structure of nanoparticles was analyzed by X-ray diffraction, obtaining a single anatase crystalline phase after the calcinations (mean nanoparticle diameters around 5–8 nm). SQUID magnetometry was employed to analyze the magnetic response of the samples. Whereas for the undoped samples synthesized with hydrolysis rate h = 6, paramagnetic like behavior is observed at room temperature, the N-doped nanoparticles (h = 3) show a weak ferromagnetic response (saturation magn...

Sol-gel NiFe2O4 nanoparticles: Effect of the silica coating

NiFe2O4 and NiFe2O4-SiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by a sol-gel method using citric acid as fuel, giving rise its combustion to the crystallization of the spinel phase. Different synthesis conditions were analyzed with the aim of obtaining stoichiometric NiFe2O4 nanoparticles. The spinel structure in the calcined nanoparticles (400 °C, 2 h) was evaluated by x-ray diffraction. Their nanometer size (mean diameters around 10–15 nm) was confirmed through electron microscopy (field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy). Rietveld refinement indicates the existence of a small percentage of NiO and Fe3O4 phases and a certain degree of structural disorder. The main effect of the silica coating is to enhance the disorder effects and prevent the crystalline growth after post-annealing treatments. Due to the small particle size, the nanoparticles display characteristic superparamagnetic behaviour and surface effects associated to a spin-glass like state: i.e., reduction in t...

Magnetic field induced martensitic transformation linked to the arrested austenite in a Ni-Mn-In-Co shape memory alloy

The so-called metamagnetic shape memory alloys transform from a ferromagnetic austenite into a weak magnetic martensitic phase, thus the application of a magnetic field, stabilizing the high magnetization phase, can induce the reverse martensitic transformation. Moreover, the martensitic transformation itself becomes arrested as its temperature range is lowered by the application of high enough magnetic fields. In this work the effect of the magnetic field on a Ni-Mn-In-Co metamagnetic shape memory has been studied by SQUID magnetometry. The arrest of the transformation produced by the field results in metastable states, whose evolution when the field is removed or reduced, follows logarithmic time dependence. The observed behavior is interpreted in terms of the magnetic contribution to the total entropy change associated with the magnetostructural transformation.

Theoretical Modeling and Experimental Verification of the Scattering From a Ferromagnetic Microwire

This paper presents a theoretical modeling of the scattering of ferromagnetic microwires in free space and inside a rectangular waveguide, providing both an analytical solution and a physical interpretation of the problem. Special attention is devoted to the impact of the microwire radius and its magnetic properties. Theoretical results have been experimentally verified measuring the reflection, absorption, and transmission coefficients of a ferromagnetic microwire inside a rectangular waveguide.