Temperature dependence of dipole-field scattering in Nanoperm

Abstract

We present small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) data for the temperature variation of the recently observed dipole-field-induced spin-misalignment scattering in the soft magnetic nanocomposite Nanoperm (Fe89Zr7B3Cu1). The associated clover-leaf-shaped angular anisotropy of the SANS pattern, which is due to spin disorder arising from dipolar stray fields of the iron nanoparticles, persists up to several hundred Kelvin above the decoupling point of the intergranular amorphous matrix phase (Tam C ffi 345 K). This observation, in conjunction with the q-dependence of the scattering, suggests the existence of long-range magnetic correlations between the iron particles through the paramagnetic matrix, in agreement with previous investigations. The characteristic wavelength of the dipole-field-induced spin disorder appears to be temperature independent.