Artificially produced rare-earth free cosmic magnet.

Chemically ordered hard magnetic L10-FeNi phase of higher grade than cosmic meteorites is produced artificially. Present alloy design shortens the formation time from hundreds of millions of years for natural meteorites to less than 300 hours. Electron diffraction detects four-fold 110 superlattice reflections and a high chemical order parameter (S 0.8) for the developed L10-FeNi phase. The magnetic field of more than 3.5 kOe is required for the switching of magnetization. Experimental results along with computer simulation suggest that the ordered phase is formed due to three factors related to the amorphous state: high diffusion rates of the constituent elements at lower temperatures when crystallizing, a large driving force for precipitation of the L10 phase, and the possible presence of L10 clusters. Present results can resolve mineral exhaustion issues in the development of next-generation hard magnetic materials because the alloys are free from rare-earth elements, and the technique is well suited for mass production.

Fabrication and nano-imprintabilities of Zr-, Pd- and Cu-based glassy alloy thin films.

With the aim of investigating nano-imprintability of glassy alloys in a film form, Zr(49)Al(11)Ni(8)Cu(32), Pd(39)Cu(29)Ni(13)P(19) and Cu(38)Zr(47)Al(9)Ag(6) glassy alloy thin films were fabricated on Si substrate by a magnetron sputtering method. These films exhibit a very smooth surface, a distinct glass transition phenomenon and a large supercooled liquid region of about 80 K, which are suitable for imprinting materials. Moreover, thermal nano-imprintability of these obtained films is demonstrated by using a dot array mold with a dot diameter of 90 nm. Surface observations revealed that periodic nano-hole arrays with a hole diameter of 90 nm were successfully imprinted on the surface of these films. Among them, Pd-based glassy alloy thin film indicated more precise pattern imprintability, namely, flatter residual surface plane and sharper hole edge. It is said that these glassy alloy thin films, especially Pd-based glassy alloy thin film, are one of the promising materials for fabricating micro-machines and nano-devices by thermal imprinting.