Thermal activation of magnetization in Pr2Fe14B ribbons

The aftereffect field of thermal activation, which corresponds to the fluctuation field of a domain wall, is investigated via specific measurements of the magnetization behavior in Pr₂Fe₁₄B nanocrystalline magnets. The thermal activation is a magnetization reversal arising from thermal fluctuation over an energy barrier to an equilibrate state. According to the magnetic viscosity and the field sweep rate dependence of the coercivity, the calculated values of the fluctuation field are lower than the aftereffect field and in a range between those of domain walls and individual grains. Based on these results, we propose that the magnetization reversal occurs in multiple ways involving grain activation and domain wall activation in thermal activation, and the thermal activation decreases the coercivity by ~0.2 kOe in the Pr₂Fe₁₄B ribbons.