Magnetic stability of FeO/Fe3N nanoparticles under ion irradiation

Ion irradiation effects on the magnetic properties of FeO/Fe3N (Iron oxide/Iron Nitride) nanoparticles are investigated in this study. The FeO/Fe3N nanoparticles were prepared using a nanocluster deposition system in which pure iron nanoparticles were generated and allowed to react with oxygen and nitrogen gases and subsequently deposited onto a silicon wafer substrate. The XRD data confirms the presence of FeO and Fe3N compounds in the particles. The saturation magnetization of these nanoparticles measured by VSM was found to be around 37.54 emu/g. The coercivity (87.9 Oe) and remanence (3.2 emu/g) of these particles remains unaltered after irradiation with 5.5 MeV Si2+ ions to a fluence of 1016 ions/cm2 at room temperature, indicating that the magnetic properties of those nanoparticles are not affected even in a highly radioactive environment. The magnetic stability can provide us promising applications for advanced data storage.