Amorphous alloys were first developed over 40 years ago and found applications as magnetic core or reinforcement added to other materials. The scope of applications is limited due to the small thickness in the region of only tens of microns. The research effort in the past two decades, mainly pioneered by a Japanese- and a US-group of scientists, has substantially relaxed this size constrain. Some bulk metallic glasses can have tensile strength up to 3000 MPa with good corrosion resistance, reasonable toughness, low internal friction and good processability. Bulk metallic glasses are now being used in consumer electronic industries, sporting goods industries, etc. In this paper, the authors reviewed the recent development of new alloy systems of bulk metallic glasses. The properties and processing technologies relevant to the industrial applications of these alloys are also discussed here. The behaviors of bulk metallic glasses under extreme conditions such as high pressure and low temperature are especially addressed in this review. In order that the scope of applications can be broadened, the understanding of the glass-forming criteria is important for the design of new alloy systems and also the processing techniques.

https://www.tcd.ie/Physics/people/Graham.Cross/SF%20Poster%202011/Shek-MaterSciEng04-Bulk%20Metallic%20Glasses.pdf

Bulk metallic glasses

In this chapter, we will restrict our attention to the ferrites and a few other closely related materials. The great interest in ferrites stems from their unique combination of a spontaneous magnetization and a high electrical resistivity. The observed magnetization results from the difference in the magnetizations of two non-equivalent sub-lattices of the magnetic ions in the crystal structure. Materials of this type should strictly be designated as “ferrimagnetic” and in some respects are more closely related to anti-ferromagnetic substances than they are to ferromagnetics in which the magnetization results from the parallel alignment of all the magnetic moments present. We shall not adhere to this special nomenclature except to emphasize effects, which are due to the existence of the sub-lattices.

Ferromagnetic materials

Imaging techniques based on optical contrast analysis can be used to visualize dynamic and functional properties of the nervous system via optical signals resulting from changes in blood volume, oxygen consumption and cellular swelling associated with brain physiology and pathology. Here we report in vivo noninvasive transdermal and transcranial imaging of the structure and function of rat brains by means of laser-induced photoacoustic tomography (PAT). The advantage of PAT over pure optical imaging is that it retains intrinsic optical contrast characteristics while taking advantage of the diffraction-limited high spatial resolution of ultrasound. We accurately mapped rat brain structures, with and without lesions, and functional cerebral hemodynamic changes in cortical blood vessels around the whisker-barrel cortex in response to whisker stimulation. We also imaged hyperoxia- and hypoxia-induced cerebral hemodynamic changes. This neuroimaging modality holds promise for applications in neurophysiology, neuropathology and neurotherapy.

Noninvasive laser-induced photoacoustic tomography for structural and functional in vivo imaging of the brain

A diverse spectrum of technology drivers such as improved thermal barriers, higher efficiency thermoelectric energy conversion, phase-change memory, heat-assisted magnetic recording, thermal management of nanoscale electronics, and nanoparticles for thermal medical therapies are motivating studies of the applied physics of thermal transport at the nanoscale. This review emphasizes developments in experiment, theory, and computation in the past ten years and summarizes the present status of the field. Interfaces become increasingly important on small length scales. Research during the past decade has extended studies of interfaces between simple metals and inorganic crystals to interfaces with molecular materials and liquids with systematic control of interface chemistry and physics. At separations on the order of ∼1 nm, the science of radiative transport through nanoscale gaps overlaps with thermal conduction by the coupling of electronic and vibrational excitations across weakly bonded or rough interface...

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Nanoscale thermal transport. II. 2003–2012

This paper reviews the theory and applications of photoacoustic (also called optoacoustic) methods belonging to the more general area of photothermal measurement techniques. The theory covers excitation of gaseous or condensed samples with modulated continuous light beams or pulsed light beams. The applications of photoacoustic methods include spectroscopy, monitoring deexcitation processes, probing physical properties of materials, and generating mechanical motions. Several other related photothermal methods, as well as particle-acoustics and wave-acoustics methods are also described. This review complements an earlier and narrower review [Rev. Mod. Phys. 53, 517 (1981)] that is mainly concerned with sensitive detection by pulsed photoacoustic spectroscopy in condensed matter.

Applications of photoacoustic sensing techniques

Photoacoustic and Photothermal Phenomena

Gilbert damping and g-factor in FexCo1−x alloy films

Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measured over a large range of frequencies from 1--70 GHz offers a unique possibility to study the dynamic response of ultrathin ferromagnetic films in the range from nanoseconds to picoseconds. The linewidth of the FMR signal is commonly believed to follow a linear $\ensuremath{\omega}$ dependence, the so-called Gilbert damping. Here we give experimental unambiguous evidence that other processes of spin dynamics such as two-magnon scattering are equally important at interfaces of ferromagnetic to nonmagnetic nanostructures. The relevance to spin transport and spin injection as well as the agreement with recent theoretical proposals are discussed.

Non-Gilbert-type damping of the magnetic relaxation in ultrathin ferromagnets: Importance of magnon-magnon scattering

The spectroscopic splitting factor g and the Gilbert damping constant G are magnetic parameters accessible to ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurements, which apart from the magneto-crystalline anisotropy energy can provide information on the spin–orbit coupling in magnetically ordered material. Whereas the effect of spin–orbit coupling has been thoroughly investigated and is well understood in insulating transition metal compounds, in 3d-metallic magnetic compounds the microscopic mechanism still needs further clarification. Particularly in thin films and multilayers interface effects and interaction between layers can modify both spin and orbital moments leading to changes of the g-value and the Gilbert damping constant. Experimental results are presented from frequency dependent FMR measurements on Co epitaxial films grown on Cr(001) and on films of the alloy Co1−xFex(100) deposited on MgO(001), and from recent studies on Fe(100) films grown on InAs(001). The experimental data yield clear evidence of the importance of surfaces or interfaces of the films on the magnitude of orbital and spin moment.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0953-8984/15/5/302/pdf

Josef Pelzl

Papers

Photoacoustic and Photothermal Phenomena

Gilbert damping and g-factor in FexCo1−x alloy films

Non-Gilbert-type damping of the magnetic relaxation in ultrathin ferromagnets: Importance of magnon-magnon scattering

Spin–orbit-coupling effects on g-value and damping factor of the ferromagnetic resonance in Co and Fe films

Photoacoustic detection of phase transitions