CHAPTER 18:

MAGNETIC PROPERTIES

ISSUES TO ADDRESS...
• How do we measure magnetic properties?

• What are the atomic reasons for magnetism?

• How are magnetic materials classified?

• Materials design for magnetic storage.

1
• Motivation
– Why would you care about magnetic properties?
– The following devices utilize magnetic materials or materials
whose properties can be moderated by applied fields:
• TVs
• Power generators/transformers
• Computers
• Phones
• Radio
• Audio components
 Chapter 18 – Magnetic Properties

• Basic Concepts
– By moving electrically charged particles
magnetic forces are generated – these
magnetic forces are often thought
of/described as fields (see picture)
– Magnetic dipoles – exist in magnetic
materials, analogous to electric dipoles.
Can be thought of as tiny bar magnets
– Magnetic dipoles are induced in magnetic
fields in a manner similar to electrical
dipoles in electric fields
– Field exerts a torque that drives alignment of
the dipoles
 APPLIED MAGNETIC FIELD
• Created by current through a coil:

• Relation for the applied magnetic field, H:

NI
H
L current

applied magnetic field

units = (ampere-turns/m)
Units of H: A/m
2
RESPONSE TO A MAGNETIC FIELD
• Magnetic induction results in the material

B = Magnetic Induction (tesla)

inside the material

B = µH
current I permeability
• Magnetic susceptibility, c (dimensionless)

c measures the
material response
relative to a vacuum.

χ = (µ - µ0)/ µ0 3
• Magnetic field vectors
– The magnetic induction or magnetic flux density (B)
is the magnitude of the internal field strength within a
substance subjected to a field of strength H
– The magnetic induction B has units of Tesla (T),
(Webers/m2, Wb/m)
– Note that H and B are vectors; Can relate the two
through

B  H , []Wb /( A  m)  ( H / m)
 is the permeability, a property of the medium. In vacuum

Bo  o H
o is the permeability of a vacuum = 4p x 10-7 H/m
Bo is the flux density within a vacuum
• Magnetic field vectors
– Externally applied magnetic fields (or magnetic
field strength) is denoted as H
– Often generate field with a cylindrical coil. If the
coils has N turns, is of length l and has a current
I running through it then

NI
H
l

H [=] Ampere-turn-1-m-1, or A/m

• Magnetic field vectors
– Relative permeability – exactly what it
sounds like 
r 
o
– The relative permeability is a measure to
which a material can be magnetized, or
how easily a B field can be induced by an
external H field
– Another field quantity, the magnetization
(M) of the solid is given as
B  o H  o M
B  o H
M
o
• Magnetic field vectors
– In the presence of an external field (H) the magnetic
moments in a material tend to align – the term oM is
a measure of this
– The magnetization can also be expressed as

M  cm H
– The quantity cm is called the magnetic susceptibility,
and is related to the permeability via

c m  r  1
• Analogous quantities – magnetic v electrical properties

BD H 
  M P
• Origin of magnetic moments – key idea is that each
electron has magnetic moments that originate from two
sources
– Orbital motion around the nucleus: electron can be thought of as
a small current loop, generating a very small magnetic field
– Spin: electron spins around an axis (remember spin up and
spin down?), generating a magnetic moment
• Origin of magnetic moments
– Most fundamental magnetic moment is the Bohr magneton B;
the value of this is 9.27 x 10-24 A-m2
– For each electron in an atom the spin magnetic moment is +/-B
– The orbital magnetic moment contribution is mlB, where ml is the
magnetic quantum number

• Many of these magnetic moments can cancel one

another
– Substances where all the electrons are paired cannot be
permanently magnetized (He, Ne, Ar…)
 MAGNETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY
• Measures the response of electrons to a magnetic
field.
• Electrons produce magnetic moments:
magnetic moments
electron electron

nucleus spin
Adapted from Fig.
20.4, Callister 6e.

• Net magnetic moment:

--sum of moments from all electrons.
• Three types of response...

4
3 TYPES OF MAGNETISM
B  (1  c) o H permeability of a vacuum:
(1.26 x 10-6 Henries/m)

Plot adapted from Fig. 20.6, Callister 6e. Values

and materials from Table 20.2 and discussion in
Section 20.4, Callister 6e. 5
MAGNETIC MOMENTS FOR 3 TYPES

Adapted from Fig.

20.5(a), Callister 6e.

Adapted from Fig.

20.5(b), Callister 6e.

Adapted from Fig.

20.7, Callister 6e.

6
FERRO- & FERRI-MAGNETIC MATERIALS
• As the applied field (H) increases...
--the magnetic moment aligns with H.

Adapted from Fig.

20.13, Callister 6e.
(Fig. 20.13 adapted
from O.H. Wyatt and D.
Dew-Hughes, Metals,
Ceramics, and
Polymers, Cambridge
University Press,
1974.)

7
 • Diamagnetism and paramagnetism
– Diamagnetism – very weak form of magnetism
• These are materials where there is no permanent magnetic dipole
moment
• Persists in a material only while an external (H) field is applied (i.e.
it is not permanent)
• Due to a change in the orbital electrons motion due to the applied
field
– It is very small in a direction opposite to that of the applied field
• r < 1, and cm is negative
• In other words, the induced field B in a diamagnetic material is less
than that in a vacuum (cm ~ -10-5)

χ = (µ-µ0)/µ0=

= µr -1
• Paramagnetism
– In some materials atoms can possess a permanent magnetic
dipole moment due to incomplete cancellation of electron spin
and/or orbital magnetic moments
– Without external field, the orientation of these moments is
random
– In the presence of an external field they can align – this is called
paramagnetism (acted on individually by the field)
• Paramagnetism (cont)
– Small but positive r
– cm ~ 10-5 – 10-2

Both dia- and para-

magnetic materials are
considered to be
nonmagnetic (why?)
• Ferromagnetism
– Things are much different here!
– Materials, typically metallic, that
• Possess a permanent magnetic moment in the absence of an external
field
• Manifest a very large and permanent magnetization
• Transition metals – Fe, Co, Ni, some rare earth metals
• Can have cm values as large as 106

• So, H << M (i.e. you have a large induced magnetization) and

B  o H  o M

M  cm H B  o M
• Ferromagnetism
– The permanent magnetic dipole moments result from atomic
magnetic moments due to electron spin (i.e. unpaired electrons,
consequence of electronic structure)
– Another difference: coupling interactions causes magnetic
moments of adjacent atoms to align even in the absence of an
external field
– Regions this occurs over are called domains or spin domains
• Ferromagnetism
– Saturation magnetization Ms, or the maximum possible
magnetization – magnetization when all the magnetic dipoles are
aligned with the field
– Equals the product of the net magnetic moment of each atom
times the number of atoms
– Fe, Co, Ni – 2.22, 1.72, and 0.6 Bohr magnetons per atom
 Chapter 18 – Magnetic Properties

• Problem 18.1 – what is the (a) saturation magnetization

and (b) saturation flux density for Ni (r = 8.90 g/cm3)
 Chapter 18 – Magnetic Properties

• Problem 18.1 – what is the (a) saturation magnetization

and (b) saturation flux density for Ni (r = 8.90 g/cm3)

(a) M s  0.6 B N What do you need? N!

N
rN A

8.90 g / cm  100cm m 6.022 10
3 3 23
atoms / mol 
ANi 58.71g / mol
N  9.13 10 28 atoms / m3

 0.6 Bohrmagneton  9.27 10 A  m  9.13 10 atoms 

24 2 28
Ms     
  Bohrmagneton 
3
atom m 
M s  5.1105 A / m
 Chapter 18 – Magnetic Properties

• Problem 18.1 – what is the (a) saturation magnetization

and (b) saturation flux density for Ni (r = 8.90 g/cm3)

(b) Bs  o M s
 4p 10 7 H  5.1105 A 
Bs    
 m  m 
Bs  0.64T
• Antiferromagnetism
– The phenomenon of magnetic coupling between adjacent
atoms/ions occurs in materials besides ferromagnets
– Another class – antiferromagnetic materials
• In these materials the coupling results in anti-parallel alignment of
the spins (e.g. MnO)
• The magnetic moments cancel – no net magnetic moment
• Ferrimagnetism (this is not a typo!)
– Ferrimagnetism – term used to describe ceramics that exhibit
permanent magnetization
• The macroscopic magnetic properties of ferro- and ferri- magnetic
materials are similar – the source of the net magnetic moments is
(somewhat) different
• Example compounds – ferrites (*this is not the a phase of iron)
– MFe2O4 – M can be nearly anything, but typically divalent (the two iron
atoms shown are Fe+3)
– Example I will use – Fe3O4 (magnetite, also called lodestone)
» Note that this is strictly Fe+2Fe+32O4
• Ferrimagnetism (this is not a typo!)
– Fe3O4  Fe+2Fe+32O4
• Fe+2 : Fe+3 are in a 1:2 ratio; the net spin magnetic moments for
Fe+2 , Fe+3 are 4 and 5 Bohr magnetons, respectively
• The ferrimagnetic moment arises from incomplete cancellation of
the spin moments
– Ferrites have the inverse spinel crystal structure – structure can
be thought of as generated by stacking of close-packed planes
of O-2 anions
• Fe cations can go into either tetrahedral or octahedral positions
• Turns out ½ the trivalent ions are in the octahedral positions, half
are in tetrahedral positions; divalent ions are all in octahedral
positions
• Ferrimagnetism (this is not a typo!)
– The key fact is the arrangement of the spin moments of the Fe
ions
• The spin moments of the Fe+3 centers are
aligned antiparallel for the octahedral/
tetrahedral centers and thus cancel

• The spin moments of the Fe+2 centers,

however, do not!

• Thus it is the Fe+2 centers that are

responsible for the observed magnetic
behavior!
• Remember MFe2O4 – thus M (if the
structure stays the same) gives you the
magnetic properties!
• Ferrimagnetism
– So the M cation gives you a “handle” for tuning magnetic
properties (*remember* MFe2O4 has the inverse spinel structure)
– Usual “culprits” for M – Ni+2, Co+2, Mn+2, Cu+2
– Can also make “mixed” ferrites
• Ferrimagnetism
– Read bottom of p 741 – as an aside there are other ceramics
that display ferrimagnetism
– Note: the saturation magnetization of ferrimagnets is lower than
ferromagnets
• However, ceramics are typically much better electrical insulators
than metals
– For some magnetic applications (e.g. transformers) this is highly
desirable
 Chapter 18 – Magnetic Properties
• Example 18.2 – saturation magnetization of Fe3O4
– 8 Fe+2, 16 Fe+3 per unit cell & a = 0.839 nm
 Chapter 18 – Magnetic Properties
• Example 18.2 – saturation magnetization of Fe3O4
– 8 Fe+2, 16 Fe+3 per unit cell & a = 0.839 nm

So, how to solve this? I would do it on a unit cell basis

M s  N 'B
N ' : number of Bohr magnetons per unit cell/unit cell volume
nB
N' 
Vc
What is nB ? 32!

nB  B 32 Bohrmagnet ons / u.c.9.27 10 24 A  m 2 / Bohrmagnet on 

Ms  
Vc 0.839 109 m3 / u.c.
M s  5.0 105 A / m
 Chapter 18 – Magnetic Properties
• Temperature dependency of magnetic properties
– Very important for ferro-, antiferro- and ferri- magnetic materials
– Why? Increasing the thermal energy of the material (i.e. raising T) will
tend to randomize the direction of magnetic moments that are aligned
(i.e. destroy spin ordering)
– Decreases the saturation magnetization as T goes up
– Quantified using the Curie temperature, Tc (for ferro- & ferri- magnets)
– Above Tc, material becomes paramagnetic (why?)

For antiferromagnets – Neel temperature

 • Domains and hysteresis
– Below the Curie temperature any ferro- or ferri- magnet is composed of
small-volume regions in which there is mutual alignment in the same
direction of all the dipole moments

• These regions are called domains and are

magnetized to their saturation M
• Adjacent domains are separated by domain walls
• Typically see moments aligned in different
directions, the direction of magnetization typically
changes gradually across the wall boundary (fig
18.12, next slide)
• Thus, for a polycrystalline material the magnitude of the
M field for the entire solid is the vector sum of the
magnetization of all domains, suitably weighted
Adjacent domains
• Domains and hysteresis
– B is not proportional to H for ferro- and ferri-magnets . Consider figure
below:
• Start w/initially unmagnetized material
• Initially B increases slowly, then sharply
increases
• Why? Movement of domain boundaries
(see cartoons)
• Go from highly randomized to highly
oriented spin domains (big oriented,
domains grow at the expense of small,
non oriented domains)
• Levels off at saturation levels
• Initial permeability is slope of plot in
limit where H  0
• Hysteresis
– If you decrease H you do not retrace this curve – there is hysteresis

• Decrease/remove H, the B field

lags
• Even at zero external field a B field
remains – this is the remanance,
or remanent flux density Br
• This behavior can be explained
based on concept of domain walls
(next slide)
• However, note something – what
do I have to do in order to
“demagnetize” this material?
• Hysteresis – mechanism: domains
– Reverse field direction, the process by which the domain structure
changes is reversed
– First the single domains rotate (due to reversal of field)
– Next, domains aligned grow at the expense of those which are not
aligned with the H field
– Some domain walls do not move as effectively as others due to
orientations (i.e. since H is reversed)
– This last point explains the lag of B with H
– Even at zero applied filed some domains
are still oriented in the opposite direction
(hence the remanent field Br)
– To get to zero B field an H field of some
magnitude –Hc must be applied in a
direction opposite to the initial field
Hc is called the coercivity
• Magnetic anisotropy – read 18.8
• Soft Magnetic Materials
– Hysteresis loop (size/shape) has a physical meaning as well as a
practical implication
– The area within the loop is the magnetic energy loss per unit
volume (for a given magnetization-demagnetization cycle)
– This energy loss takes the form of heat – T goes up!
– Magnetic materials are categorized as
“hard” or “soft” materials based on the
characteristics of the hysteresis loop
 • Soft Magnetic Materials
– Soft magnetic materials are used in devices subjected to
alternating magnetic fields where the energy loss must be low (i.e.
area in the hysteresis loop is small)
– Example – transformer cores
– Want a thin, narrow hysteresis loop
• High initial permeability, low coercivity
• Such a material will reach its saturation
magnetization with a low applied field, with
minimal hysteresis energy loss
 • Soft Magnetic Materials
– While the saturation properties of a material are solely determined
by composition, the susceptibility and coercivity are highly
structure dependent!
• Why? A low coercivity means the domain walls
can move/respond easily to changes in the
magnitude/direction of the applied field
• Defects tend to increase coercivity (why?)
• Soft Magnetic Materials
– Another thing to consider – the electrical resistivity!
– Why?
• Energy losses can also occur due to electrical currents induced in
magnetic materials due to the field that varies in time and direction
– These are called eddy currents
• Want to minimize these! (* remember s = 1/r *)
– To do that increase the resistivity
– Can achieve that by alloying (solid solutions)
• Soft Magnetic Materials
– Finally, can also modulate the hysteresis properties of soft
magnetic materials by thermal treatments in the presence of a
magnetic field
• What do you think this might do?
 • Hard Magnetic Materials
– Hard magnetic materials are used as permanent magnets – they
must have a high resistance to demagnetization
– Hard magnets have a high remanance, coercivity, saturation flux
density, and energy loss, but a low initial permeability
• Two most important properties –
coercivity and the “energy product”,
which is (BH)max
• This value is representative of the
energy needed to demagnetize a
permanent magnet
• “Harder” magnets have larger (BH)max
values
• Hard Magnetic Materials
– Hard magnetic materials are classified as “conventional” or “high
energy”
– Conventional materials – (BH)max between 2 – 80 kJ/m3
– Include ferromagnetic materials – magnet steels, cunife (Cu-Ni-
Fe) alloys and hexagonal ferrites
• Hard Magnetic Materials
– Hard steel magnets are normally alloyed w/W or Cr
– Heat treat this – form tungsten carbide or chromium carbide
precipitates – effective at obstructing domain wall motion
– Other alloys: heat treatment induces microphase separation
• Lead to small strongly magnetic domains dispersed in a nonmagnetic
matrix

– High energy hard magnets

• Exactly what they sound like
• Two main classes – SmCo5 (Samarium Co) and Nd2Fe14B (Neodymium
Fe B)
• (bottom p. 753) – used in motors ; permanent magnets are superior to
electromagnets (used in small hp units)
– Cordless drills, video recorders
• Magnetic storage
– Magnetic materials are occupying a role of increasing importance
as information storage materials
– Example: computers
• Primary storage (memory) – semiconductor elements
• Secondary storage (hard drive) – magnetic materials
– Magnetic materials can store more information at a lower
cost

– How does this work – magnetize domains in the material!

 • Magnetic storage
– Use what is called an inductive read-write head: (coil wound
around a hollow cylindrical magnetic material with a gap)
– See picture : electrical signal in the coil generates a magnetic
field in the gap

• This field magnetizes small

domains in the recording medium
in the proximity of the gap
• Remove field – magnetization
remains (signal is stored)
• Magnetic storage
– How to retrieve information? – as recording medium passes by
the head coil gap a change in the magnetic field will induce a
voltage
• This voltage can be
amplified
 • Magnetic storage
– Two principal forms of media – particulate and thin film

• Particulate
• Needlelike particles, typically of g-Fe2O3 or CrO2
• These are applied/bonded to a polymeric film
(tapes) or to a metal/polymer disk
• Particles are aligned during manufacturing so
that their long axis is parallel to the motion past
the head
• Two states – magnetic moment along axis in
one of two possible directions
• Adjacent domains with moments in the same
direction – 0
• Adjacent domains with moments in different
directions - 1
 • Magnetic storage media – thin films

• Conceptually similar to powders – now

you have a polycrystalline film
• One domain is equivalent to a particle
• Materials of choice – CoPtCr or CoCrTa
alloys
• Grain size between 10-30 nm; size/shape
uniformity is important

• Have much higher (~100x) storage

densities than powders
• Magnetic storage media
• Few final comments:
• Want hysteresis loops to be relatively large and
square
• Why?
• Saturation flux densities
• Particulate materials: 0.4 –0.6 T
• Films: 0.6 – 1.2 T
• Coercivity values range of 1 – 2.5 x 105 A/m
 PERMANENT MAGNETS
• Process:
Adapted from Fig.
20.14, Callister 6e.

B Adapted from Fig. 20.16,

• Hard vs Soft Magnets Callister 6e. (Fig. 20.16 from
K.M. Ralls, T.H. Courtney,
large coercivity and J. Wulff, Introduction to
d
Materials Science and
--good for perm magnets
Har

d
Engineering, John Wiley and

Har
--add particles/voids to Sons, Inc., 1976.)
Soft

make domain walls Applied Magnetic

hard to move (e.g., Field (H)
tungsten steel:
Hc = 5900 amp-turn/m) small coercivity--good for elec. motors
(e.g., commercial iron 99.95 Fe)
8
 MAGNETIC STORAGE
• Information is stored by magnetizing material.
• Head can... recording medium
--apply magnetic field H &
align domains (i.e.,
magnetize the medium).
--detect a change in the
magnetization of the recording head
Simulation of hard drive
medium. courtesy Martin Chen.
Adapted from Fig. 20.18, Callister 6e.
(Fig. 20.18 from J.U. Lemke, MRS
Reprinted with permission Bulletin, Vol. XV, No. 3, p. 31, 1990.)
• Two media types: from International Business
Machines Corporation.

--Particulate: needle-shaped --Thin film: CoPtCr or CoCrTa

g-Fe2O3. +/- mag. moment alloy. Domains are ~ 10-30nm!
along axis. (tape, floppy) (hard drive) Adapted from Fig.
Adapted from Fig.
20.20(a), Callister 6e.
20.19, Callister
6e. (Fig. 20.19 (Fig. 20.20(a) from M.R.
Kim, S. Guruswamy, and
courtesy P. ~2.5m K.E. Johnson, J. Appl.
Rayner and N.L.
Head, IBM Phys., Vol. 74 (7), p.
4646, 1993. )
Corporation.)
9
 SUMMARY
• A magnetic field can be produced by:
--putting a current through a coil.
• Magnetic induction:
--occurs when a material is subjected to a magnetic field.
--is a change in magnetic moment from electrons.
• Types of material response to a field are:
--ferri- or ferro-magnetic (large magnetic induction)
--paramagnetic (poor magnetic induction)
--diamagnetic (opposing magnetic moment)
• Hard magnets: large coercivity.
• Soft magnets: small coercivity.
• Magnetic storage media:
--particulate g-Fe2O3 in polymeric film (tape or floppy)
--thin film CoPtCr or CoCrTa on glass disk (hard drive)
Note: For materials selection cases related to
a magnet coil, see slides 20-11 to 20-15.
10
 ANNOUNCEMENTS
Reading: Chapter 18 (sent by e-mail)
HW # 11, Due Monday April 23
Problems 18.1; 18.4; 18.7; 18.12; 18.18; 18.19;
18.25; 18.28; 18.D1