AIDA - Apparatus for In-situ Defect Analysis: Investigations on Fe60Al40

We performed in-situ annealing investigations of 250 nm Fe60Al40 thin films. The magnetic properties of disorderd Fe60Al40 thin films change from the ferromagnetic to paramagnetic state du to annealing. No conclusive discussion of that phase transtion as a function of the open volume defects exists in the literature. First results on the Fe60Al40 annealing driven magnetic phase transition between the ferromagnetic A1 phase and the paramagnetic B2 phase as a function of the open volume defects will be shown. The magnetization of the film after each annealing step indicates its progress reflecting chemical ordering of the alloy and dinishing of ferromagnetism [1]. Fig. 1 shows the temperature dependence of the positron annihilation spectorscopy (PAS) S-parameter indicating the open volume defects evolution during annealing. The defects are very stable with respect to annealing and do not directly relate to the change of magnetic properties. Our results indicate that Fe60Al40 could be a promising candidate for Hydrogen storage due to a large amount of stable defects. Through hybridisation the electronic structure can be modified, combined with a local lattice distortion. Hydrogen can therefore be viewed as a tool to modify the electronic structure, allowing tuning of the magnetic properties as a consequence.
For the in-situ annealing we have utilized a unique high vacuum system combining material evaporation and ion beam modification with positron annihilation spectroscopy. The system has been developed and installed in the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. The system is capable to perform Doppler broadening spectroscopy as well as resistometry and provides a monoenergetic positron beam pre-accelerated in the range of 80 eV to 35 keV thus enabling sample depth profiling.