Enhancement of magnetism of Fe by Cr and V

TL;DR

This paper investigates how alloying Fe with Cr or V enhances its magnetism through electronic structure modifications, proposing new avenues for designing high-performance magnetic materials.

Contribution

It introduces a first-principles understanding of magnetism enhancement in Fe alloys with Cr and V, and suggests design principles for high Ne9l antiferromagnets and improved permanent magnets.

Findings

Fe's magnetic moments are increased by hybridization with Cr/V d states.

The mechanism applies to Fe/Cr heterostructures, enhancing magnetism.

Potential for designing high Ne9l temperature antiferromagnets and stronger permanent magnets.

Abstract

Enhancement of magnetism of Fe that occurs by alloying with Cr or V is discussed on the basis of first-principles electronic structure calculation. The d states of Fe next to Cr(V) are pushed down to the lower energy side compared to those of pure Fe due to the hybridization with Cr(V) d states, which leads a Co-like electronic structure for the Fe atom. This enhances magnetic moments of other Fe atoms and also the exchange couplings among them. The same mechanism works as well for the magnetism of Fe/Cr heterostructures. The idea is extended to design of a new type of antiferromagnets with high N\'eel temperature. Such heterostructures could be used to increase a magnetic anisotropy of permanent magnets.