Effect of nucleated Cu phase on magnetic properties and electronic structures in bcc Fe: Ab initio study

Using the first-principles calculations, the change in magnetism and electronic structures during Cu nucleation in bcc Fe system was investigated. For modeling the Fe-rich bcc FeCu alloy, Fe_x Cu_1-x(x≥0. 75) were employed in the supercell system. Nonmagnetic Cu atoms were precipitated on the (100) plane of bcc Fe crystal, whereas the magnetized Cu atoms preferred to be precipitated on the (110) plane. Magnetization energies showed a linear decrease as the Cu concentration increased in bcc Fe. The magnetic moments of Fe atoms increased for larger concentration of Cu atoms. Electron density of states showed that the enhanced magnetic moment of Fe atoms resulted from the shift of minority spin states toward higher levels, which was associated with the bond formation between Cu and Fe atoms.