Magnetic domain wall movement in iron silicon

Abstract

Lorentz microscopy in the transmission electron microscope directly images magnetic domains. By changing the magnetic field of the electromagnetic lenses relative to the specimen plane, the movement of the magnetic domain walls and their interaction with microstructural features can be observed in situ. This type of experiment has successfully analyzed the microstructure-domain wall interactions in spinel ferrites and iron-rare-earth-boron magnetic materials. The domain wall motion reveals the qualitative pinning potential of grain boundaries, precipitates, inclusions, stacking faults, and cracks. In addition, these in situ experiments display the dynamics of magnetic domain nucleation. The current study investigates the magnetic domain wall movement in iron silicon alloys. Since magnetic properties such as intrinsic coercivity and permeability are structure sensitive, the influence of microstructure on domain wall movement dictates the soft magnetic behavior.Thin foils of iron-6.5 wt% silicon were prepared by electropolishing ribbons produced by melt spinning techniques. The magnetic domain walls were imaged in the defocused (Fresnel) mode with a Philips CM20T operated at 200 kV.