The effect of pinning and nucleation field distributions on reversible magnetization behavior

A model has been developed to examine the effect that different distributions of pinning and nucleation fields have upon the reversible magnetization behavior. The model allows each grain to be in one of three states, saturated in the positive and negative directions or containing a domain wall. The nucleation and pinning field distributions determine the rate of change of the number of grains in the three states with field. The results indicate that reversible magnetization curves display a well-defined minimum where the domain wall pinning fields exceed the reverse domain nucleation fields. Where the domain wall nucleation fields exceed the domain wall pinning fields no minimum is seen. The exact shape of the reversible magnetization curve and the position of the minimum are indicative of the dynamics of the reversal process. This model is able to reproduce the form of reversible magnetization curves measured previously in a sintered isotropic NdFeB based magnet and a Sm-2(Co, Fe, Cu, Zr)(17) type magnet. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)15208-9].