Highly thermal-stable ferromagnetism by a natural composite

Abstract

All ferromagnetic materials show deterioration of magnetism-related properties such as magnetization and magnetostriction with increasing temperature, as the result of gradual loss of magnetic order with approaching Curie temperature T C. However, technologically, it is highly desired to find a magnetic material that can resist such magnetism deterioration and maintain stable magnetism up to its T C, but this seems against the conventional wisdom about ferromagnetism. Here we show that a Fe-Ga alloy exhibits highly thermal-stable magnetization up to the vicinity of its T C, 880 K. Also, the magnetostriction shows nearly no deterioration over a very wide temperature range. Such unusual behaviour stems from dual-magnetic-phase nature of this alloy, in which a gradual structural-magnetic transformation occurs between two magnetic phases so that the magnetism deterioration is compensated by the growth of the ferromagnetic phase with larger magnetization. Our finding may help to develop highly thermal-stable ferromagnetic and magnetostrictive materials.