SPINTRONIC MATERIALS
INTERNSHIP NOTES
Magnetic materials
Diamagnetic material
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SPINTRONIC MATERIALS
Para magnetic material
Ferro maganteic material
Antiferro magnetic materials
Ferric magnetic material
Magnetic property refers to the response of a material to an applied
magnetic field. The macroscopic magnetic properties of a material are a
consequence of interactions between an external magnetic field and
the magnetic dipole moments of the constituent atoms .
Different materials react to the application of magnetic
field differently. The most familiar effects occur in ferromagnetic
materials, which are strongly attracted by magnetic fields and can be
magnetized to become permanent magnets, producing magnetic fields
themselves. Only a few substances are ferromagnetic. The most common
ones are iron, cobalt and nickel and their alloys.
DIAMAGNETIC
Diamagnetic materials are those that some people generally think of as
non-magnetic. Diamagnetic materials are repelled by a magnetic field; an
applied magnetic field creates an induced magnetic field in them in
the opposite direction, causing a repulsive force. Diamagnetism results
from changes in electron orbital motion that are induced by an external
field. Diamagnetic materials include water, wood, most organic
compounds such as petroleum and some plastics, and many metals
including copper, particularly the heavy ones with many core electrons,
such as mercury, gold and bismuth. The effect is extremely small (with
susceptibilities on the order of -10-5) and in opposition to the applied field.
Diamagnetic materials, like water, or water-based materials, have
a relative magnetic permeability that is less than or equal to 1, and
susceptibility is defined as χv = μv − 1. Diamagnetic and paramagnetic
therefore a magnetic susceptibility less than or equal to 0, since
materials are considered nonmagnetic because the magnetizations are
relatively small and persist only while an applied field is present.
If χ (magnetic susceptibility) is negative, the material is diamagnetic.
In this case, the magnetic field in the material is weakened by the induced
magnetization. Diamagnetic materials are repelled by magnetic fields. For
−9.05×10−6. The most strongly diamagnetic material is bismuth, χ v =
example, the magnetic susceptibility of diamagnets such as water is χ v =
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SPINTRONIC MATERIALS
−1.66×10−4. Generally, nonmagnetic materials are said to be para- or
diamagnetic because they do not possess permanent magnetization
without external magnetic field.
PARAMAGNETIC
Paramagnetic materials are those having permanent atomic dipoles,
which are acted on individually and aligned in the direction of an
external field. Diamagnetic and paramagnetic materials are considered
nonmagnetic because the magnetizations are relatively small and persist
only while an applied field is present. If χ (magnetic susceptibility) is
positive, a material can be paramagnetic. In this case, the magnetic field
in the material is strengthened by the induced magnetization.
Paramagnetic materials include most chemical elements and some
compounds. They have a relative magnetic permeability slightly greater
than 1 (i.e., a small positive magnetic susceptibility) and hence are
attracted to magnetic fields. Generally, nonmagnetic materials are said to
be para- or diamagnetic because they do not possess permanent
magnetization without external magnetic field.
FERRO MAGNETIC
Ferromagnetism is the basic mechanism by which a material form
permanent magnet (i.e. materials that can be magnetized by an external
magnetic field and remain magnetized after the external field is removed).
Ferromagnetism is the strongest type and is responsible for this common
phenomenon. Ferromagnetic, ferrimagnetic, or antiferromagnetic
materials possess permanent magnetization even without external
magnetic field and do not have a well defined zero-field susceptibility.
Permanent magnetic moments in ferromagnetic materials result from
atomic magnetic moments due to unpaired electron spins as a
consequence of the electron structure. There is also an orbital magnetic
moment contribution that is small in comparison to the spin moment.
Thus, even in the absence of an applied field, the magnetic moments of
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the electrons in the material spontaneously line up parallel to one another.
Every ferromagnetic material has its own individual temperature, called
the Curie temperature, or Curie point, above which it loses its
ferromagnetic properties. This is because the thermal tendency to
disorder overwhelms the energy-lowering due to ferromagnetic order. Only
a few substances are ferromagnetic. The common ones are iron, cobalt,
nickel and most of their alloys, and some compounds of rare earth metals.
Ferromagnetism is very important in industry and modern technology.
Ferromagnetic materials can be divided into magnetically “soft” materials
like annealed iron, which can be magnetized but do not tend to stay
magnetized, and magnetically “hard” materials, which do. Permanent
magnets are made from “hard” ferromagnetic materials such as alnico
and ferrite that are subjected to special processing in a strong magnetic
field during manufacture to align their internal microcrystalline structure,
making them very hard to demagnetize.
ANTIFERRO MAGNETIC
In an antiferromagnet, unlike a ferromagnet, there is a tendency for the
intrinsic magnetic moments of neighboring valence electrons to point in
opposite directions. When all atoms are arranged in a substance so that
each neighbor is anti-parallel, the substance is antiferromagnetic.
Antiferromagnets have a zero net magnetic moment, meaning that no
field is produced by them. Manganese oxide (MnO) is one material that
displays this behavior. Generally, antiferromagnetic order may exist at
sufficiently low temperatures, but vanishes at and above the Néel
temperature. Above the Néel temperature, the material is typically
paramagnetic, that is, the thermal energy becomes large enough to
destroy the microscopic magnetic ordering within the material. The Néel
temperature of MnO is about 116K.
FERRIC MAGNETIC
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The macroscopic magnetic characteristics of ferromagnets and
ferrimagnets are similar, the distinction lies in the source of the net
magnetic moments. A ferrimagnetic material is one that has populations
of atoms with opposing magnetic moments, as in antiferromagnetism;
however, in ferrimagnetic materials, the opposing moments are unequal
and a spontaneous magnetization remains. Ferromagnetic, ferrimagnetic,
or antiferromagnetic materials possess permanent magnetization even
without external magnetic field and do not have a well defined zero-field
susceptibility. Ferrites (widely used in household products such as
refrigerator magnets) are usually ferrimagnetic ceramic compounds
derived from iron oxides. Magnetite (Fe3O4) is a famous example.
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