Micromagnetics of ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic nanocomposite materials. II. Mesoscopic modeling

In the second part of this publication we present simulation results for two three-dimensional models of Heusler-type alloys obtained by the mesoscopic micromagnetic approach. In the first model we simulate the magnetization reversal of a single ferromagnetic (FM) inclusion within a monocrystalline antiferromagnetic (AFM) matrix, revealing the evolution of the complex magnetization distribution within this inclusion when the external field is changed. The main result of this "monocrystalline" model is the absence of any hysteretic behavior by the magnetization reversal of the FM inclusion. Hence, this model is unable to reproduce the basic experimental result for the corresponding nanocomposite-hysteresis in the magnetization reversal of FM inclusions with a vertical shift of the corresponding loops. To explain this latter feature, in the second model we introduce a polycrystalline AFM matrix, with exchange interactions between AFM crystallites and between the FM inclusion and these crystallites. We show that within this model we can not only reproduce the hysteretic character of the remagnetization process, but also achieve a semiquantitative agreement with the experimentally observed hysteresis loop, assuming that the concentration of FM inclusions strongly fluctuates. These findings demonstrate the reliability of our enhanced micromagnetic model and set the basis for its applications in future studies of Heusler alloys and FM/AFM nanocomposites.