MAGNETIC PHASE-TRANSITION IN EPITAXIAL NI1-XFEX ALLOY THIN-FILMS

An investigation of fee Ni1-xFex thin films utilizing a combination of Mossbauer spectroscopy and magnetometry twenty presents clear evidenc e for the emergence of a low-spin antiferromagnetic state in the regio n of high Fe concentration, which coexists with a high-spin ferromagne tic state. The emergence of this state is observed by magnetometry as a drop in the saturation moment while Mossbauer spectroscopy reveals t he appearance of a low-spin antiferromagnetic state. Evidence of super paramagnetic behavior indicates that the portion of the sample in the high-spin state may exist as clusters in a matrix of the low-spin stat e.