Saturation magnetization and crystalline anisotropy calculations for MnAl permanent magnet

Theoretical saturation magnetization and magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy (MAE) of τ-phase (face-centered tetragonal) Mn50Al50 alloy were obtained by first principles calculations, and the alloy was fabricated to compare the experimental values with the theoretical predictions. The calculated magnetic moment and MAE for τ-phase Mn50Al50 were 2.37 μB/f.u. and 0.259 meV/f.u. (1.525×106 J/m3), respectively, which result in the maximum energy product (BH)max of 12.64 MG Oe and the magnetocrystalline anisotropy field of 38 kOe. The saturation magnetization for τ-phase Mn54Al46 alloy was measured to be 98.3 emu/g, which gives 4.7 MG Oe of (BH)max. The magnetization is about 70% of the theoretical value of 144 emu/g.