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Lecture

Magnetic Anisotropy: Basics and Applications

In course

MSE-432: Introduction to magnetic materials in modern technologies

Interactive course addressing bulk and thin-film magnetic materials that provide application-specific functionalities in different modern technologies such as e.g. wind energy harvesting, electric article surveillance, spintronics, sensing, and data storag ...

Description

This lecture covers the fundamental concepts of magnetic anisotropy, including the exchange interaction, hysteretic behavior of magnetization, and various types of anisotropy in magnetic materials. It explains how anisotropy affects the functionality and temperature dependence of hard-magnetic materials, with examples ranging from bcc Fe to SmCos. The lecture also delves into the temperature dependencies of anisotropy constants and the anisotropy field. Furthermore, it explores the impact of demagnetization on anisotropy and the determination of an easy axis in magnetic materials.

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Instructor

Dirk Grundler

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Physics

Condensed matter physics: Phase transitions

Related concepts (32)

Magnetic domain

A magnetic domain is a region within a magnetic material in which the magnetization is in a uniform direction. This means that the individual magnetic moments of the atoms are aligned with one another and they point in the same direction. When cooled below a temperature called the Curie temperature, the magnetization of a piece of ferromagnetic material spontaneously divides into many small regions called magnetic domains. The magnetization within each domain points in a uniform direction, but the magnetization of different domains may point in different directions.

Magnetic anisotropy

In condensed matter physics, magnetic anisotropy describes how an object's magnetic properties can be different depending on direction. In the simplest case, there is no preferential direction for an object's magnetic moment. It will respond to an applied magnetic field in the same way, regardless of which direction the field is applied. This is known as magnetic isotropy. In contrast, magnetically anisotropic materials will be easier or harder to magnetize depending on which way the object is rotated.

Magnetocrystalline anisotropy

In physics, a ferromagnetic material is said to have magnetocrystalline anisotropy if it takes more energy to magnetize it in certain directions than in others. These directions are usually related to the principal axes of its crystal lattice. It is a special case of magnetic anisotropy. In other words, the excess energy required to magnetize a specimen in a particular direction over that required to magnetize it along the easy direction is called crystalline anisotropy energy.

Magnet

A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, cobalt, etc. and attracts or repels other magnets. A permanent magnet is an object made from a material that is magnetized and creates its own persistent magnetic field. An everyday example is a refrigerator magnet used to hold notes on a refrigerator door.

Coercivity

Coercivity, also called the magnetic coercivity, coercive field or coercive force, is a measure of the ability of a ferromagnetic material to withstand an external magnetic field without becoming demagnetized. Coercivity is usually measured in oersted or ampere/meter units and is denoted HC. An analogous property in electrical engineering and materials science, electric coercivity, is the ability of a ferroelectric material to withstand an external electric field without becoming depolarized.

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