MAGNETIC MATERIALS

Where Does Magnetism Come From

Magnetic moment of an atom arises from
?
Electrons moving around the nucleus
and spinning around  e- have orbital (L)
and spin (S) angular momentum

Also diamagnetic contribution because

electrons rotating around the nucleus
constitute a current loop (Lenz’s law)
 ORIGIN OF MAGNETISM IN MATERIALS

A moving electric charge, macroscopically or “microscopically” is responsible for Magnetism

Nuclear spin Weak effect

Unpaired electrons required

Origin of Magnetism Spin of electrons for net Magnetic Moment

Orbital motion of electrons This effect is

Also not
significant

Magnetic Moment resultant from the spin of a single unpaired electron

→ Bohr Magneton = 9.273 x 1024 A.m2
 Material in a Magnetic Field
 The response of a material to a Magnetic Field H is called Magnetic Induction B
 The relationship between B and H is a property of the material
 In some materials and in free space B is a linear function of H but in general it is
much more complicated and sometimes it is not even single valued

Total number of lines per cm2 is called the magnetic flux density or the induction B = H + 4 Π M

The ratio of B to H is called the permeability µ

B  0 ( H  M ) B  [Weber / m2 ]  [Tesla]
Permeability of free space µo = 4Π x 10-7 Tesla m/A
m
M M  Magnetization  Magnetic Moment (m) per unit volume
V
M
   Magnetic Susceptibility
H
 Classification of Materials

Materials

Non- magnetic Magnetic

Paramagnetic Ferromagnetic Antiferromagnetic Ferrimagnetic

• Non-magnetic elements DO-NOT have a permanent / intrinsic magnetic

moment for their atoms.

* Magnetic elements DO have a permanent/intrinsic magnetic moment for

their atoms.
 TYPES OF MAGNETIC MATERIALS
Diamagnetism

PARAMAGNETISM

FERROMAGNETISM

ANTI FERROMAGNETISM

FERRIMAGNETISM
 Diamagnetism
μ

i Question: Are all materials Diamagnetic ?

Answer: YES – Because of Lenz’s Law
e-
Δμ
r

H
The magnetic moment opposes the field in diamagnetic materials

Diamagnetic material placed in a

magnetic field experiences a force which
repels the diamagnetic material away
from a permanent magnet.
 Paramagnetism

(a) In paramagnetic material each individual atom possesses a permanent magnetic

moment but due to thermal agitation there is no average moment per atom; M = 0.

(b) In an applied field, individual magnetic moments take alignments along the applied
field; and M is finite and along B, but saturation cannot be attained.
 Ferromagnetism
In a magnetized region of a ferromagnetic material all the magnetic moments are
spontaneously aligned in the same direction. There is a strong magnetization vector M even in
the absence of an applied field.
Criteria for ferromagnetism :
1. Should be an unfilled shell – Unpaired electron
2. Negative exchange integral
Such materials exhibit hysteresis
Relationship between B & H is non-linear

Hysteresis Loss
Due to magnetic hysteresis, a
fraction of applied power is lost
in the form of heat.

Portion of power lost correspond

to the difference between the
energy stored and energy
returned back by the magnetic
core is Hysteresis loss
 Susceptibility of Magnetic Materials

C
 
C 
T T 
Curie law Curie-Weiss law

Curie law only holds for high temperatures, or weak magnetic fields. It was later shown that the
Curie law is only a special case of a more general law called the Curie-Weiss law. Here, ϴ is a
constant, with the dimensions of temperature, for any one substance, and equal to zero for those
substances which obey Curie’s law.
 Hysteresis Loop Showing Typical Parameters

B
SATURATION INDUCTION (BS)

REMANENCE (Br)

COERCIVITY (HC)

H
The Process of Magnetization

H
Domain of GdFe sample
 Soft and Hard Magnetic Materials
Based on coercivity

SOFT HARD
1 to 10-2 Oe  102-104 Oe

Characteristic parameter
high permeability high energy product
Applications
inductors, low and high frequency
recording media, automobile
transformers, Reduction in eddy
industry, Motors, etc.,
current loss, etc.,
State of the art materials
Ferrites, FINEMET, NANOPERM, HITPERM Nd-Fe-B, Sm-Co, Fe-Pt
Historical Development of Hard Magnetic Materials

1. C-steel
2. W-Steel
3. Co-Steel
4. Fe-Ni-Co-Al alloy
5. Ticonal II
6. Ticonal G
7. Ticonal GG
8. Ticonal XX
9. SmCo5
10. (Sm,Pr)Co5
11. SmCo7
12. NdFeB
 Comparison of Soft & Hard Magnetic Materials

PROPERTY SOFT HARD

Area of Hysteresis Loop Smaller Larger
Hysteresis Loss Less More
Permeability Larger Smaller
Domain wall movement Easier Difficult
Magnetic Reluctance Low High
Susceptibility High Low
Retentivity Smaller Higher
Coercivity Smaller Higher
Magnetization Easier Difficult
De-magnetization Easier Difficult
Eddy Current Loss Lesser Greater
Magnetostatic Energy Smaller Larger
Magnetic Saturation Less field needed High field needed
Example: Fe-Si alloy, Fe-Ni alloy SmCo, Nd-Fe-B
 Ferrimagnetism
In ferrimagnets, the magnetic moments of the A and B sub-lattices are not equal and
result in a net magnetic moment.

Ferrimagnetism is therefore similar to ferromagnetism. It exhibits all the hallmarks

of ferromagnetic behavior- spontaneous magnetization, Curie temperatures,
hysteresis, and remanence. However, ferro- and ferri-magnets have very different
magnetic ordering.
 SPINEL FERRITES
Spinels (named after well-known mineral, spinel, MgA12O4) form an
extensive group of such oxides having a relatively simple crystal structure.

Crystal General
Type structure formula Replacements

Spinel Cubic AIIFe2O4 AII – Fe2+, Mn2+, Zn2+,

Ni2+, Mg2+, Co2+

Ferrite beads are used for decoupling (keeping

out unwanted signals) on dc supply and some
signal lines and provide attenuation of selected
frequency bands. A ferrite bead is a passive
electric component used to suppress high
frequency noise in electronic circuits. Ferrite
beads are also called as EMI filters or chokes.
 Crystal Structure of Spinel Ferrite

AIIFeIII2O4

The total positive charge

on the cations must
clearly be eight units

Tetrahedral (A) Site Octahedral (B) Site

(64 per unit cell) (32 per unit cell)
A → Ni2+,Zn2+, Fe2+,Cd2+, … B → Fe3+,Mn3+, Al3+,Cr3+,…

The cations have two distinct environments, according to

the type of interstice in which they are accommodated.
 Two of the 8 octants of the cubic unit.

In this cubic-close packed structure,

there are 2 interstitial sites, one being
the tetrahedral or A site surrounded by
4 oxygen ions and the other, octahedral
or B site surrounded by 6 oxygen ions.

Unit cell contains 32 oxygen anions (shown as large spheres) and 24 cations.

There are total of 64 tetrahedral (A) sites and 32 octahedral (B) sites available in
the unit cell, out of which, only 8 A sites and 16 B sites are occupied respectively.
The occupied tetrahedral sites form two interpenetrating f.c.c. lattices
having an edge a, which are displaced with respect to each other by a
distance (1/4)a in the direction of the body diagonal of the cube.
cation in tetrahedral site
cation in octahedral site
oxygen ion
All octahedral ions together lie on four interpenetrating
f.c.c. lattices with edge a, which are displaced with
 
respect to each 1 4 a 2 other by a distance in the
directions of the face diagonals of the cube.

The A sites are smaller than the B sites

to contain a metal ion. If we consider
metal ions as well as the oxygen ions as
solid spheres, local distortion results
due to the filling of A sites. The oxygen
ions get displaced along the body
diagonal decreasing the B site volume
and increasing the A site volume.
 CATION DISTRIBUTION IN A & B SITES
3
( A12x Bx3 )[ Ax2 B2 x ] O42
In “normal” spinel, the eight divalent metal ions occupy the
tetrahedral positions and the 16 trivalent ions occupy octahedral
x = 0; Normal spinel positions. This is represented as (M2+)[Fe3+]2O4, where the round and
square brackets represent the metal ions in A and B sites respectively.

By equilibrium method Ex.: zinc ferrite  Zn   Fe

2 3
2
 O42
If the divalent M2+ ions occupy octahedral (B) sites and Fe3+ ions are
distributed in equal number over the tetrahedral (A) and octahedral
x = 1: Inverse spinel (B) sites, it is called “Inverse” spinel. The arrangement may thus be
represented as (Fe3+)[Fe3+M2+]2O4.
Ex.: Magnetite Fe3O4, NiFe2O4 & CoFe2O4
When cations M2+ and Fe3+ occupy both A & B sites, it is known as
“mixed” spinel.

0 < x < 1; Mixed spinel 

The structural formula is M 1 Fe  M  Fe2  O4 , where  is
2 3
 2 3 2

the degree of inversion (i.e., fraction of Fe3+ ions on A-sites).

Ex.: MnFe O , (Mn-Zn)Fe2O4
 Me Fe   Me Fe  O2 4
2 3 2 3 2

Fe  O the formula is,    Mn0.22 Fe1.83  O42

1    2  4
2 3
If  = Fe   Mnthen
Mn 0.2,
2
0.8
3
0.2
2
0.2
3
1.8
2
4
Mn0.8 Fe0.2
 Zn Mn Fe  Mn
2
x
2 3
y 1 x  y
2
Fe  O42
3
1 x  y 1 x  y
 MAGNETIC INTERACTION IN SPINEL FERRITES

In ferrites, the electrons are remaining localized on their parent atom;

hence localized theories are suitable for the description of interactions.
Three kinds of magnetic interactions are possible between the metallic ions
through the intermediate O2- ions, by super-exchange interaction, namely,

A-A interactions,

B-B interactions &

A-B interactions

Nearest neighbor configurations in spinel lattice

depicting the bond lengths & bond angles.

Among these, A-A & B-B are weak, but A-B super-exchange interactions are strong.