First-principles study on the magnetic properties of ordered Nd$_{6}$(Fe,Ga)$_{14}$ alloys

TL;DR

This study uses first-principles calculations to analyze the magnetic structures of Nd6(Fe,Ga)14 alloys, revealing how Ga doping influences the stabilization of anti-ferromagnetic versus ferromagnetic states relevant to Nd-Fe-B magnets.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the magnetic phase stability of Nd6(Fe,Ga)14 alloys with Ga doping, which was not previously understood.

Findings

Ga doping stabilizes anti-ferromagnetic state

Non-doped alloy favors ferromagnetic state

Energy differences between magnetic states are small

Abstract

We studied the stable magnetic structure of ordered Nd$_{6}$Fe$_{14-x}$Ga$_x$ ($x = 0, 1)$ alloys, which appears in the grain-boundary (GB) phase of Nd-Fe-B permanent magnets, using first-principles techniques. Slight Ga doping ($x = 1$) was shown to contribute to the stabilization of an anti-ferromagnetic (AF) state, whereas the non-doped case ($x = 0$) was revealed to favor ferromagnetic state rather than AF state with a slight energy difference.