Neutron diffraction study of hard magnetic alloy MnAlC

The crystal and magnetic structure of the hard magnetic alloy Mn1.074Al0.871C0.005, which has a body centered tetragonal structure, has been investigated. Neutron diffraction data shows that Mn0.992, C0.008 occupy the (0,0,0) site and Mn0.082, Al0.871, C0.047 occupy the ( 1/2 , 1/2 , 1/2 ) site. The magnetic moments of manganese atoms are along the c axis, pointing in opposite directions for the two sites. Comparing these results with those of Mn1.09Al0.91, the significant improvement of magnetic and mechanical properties in the ternary alloy MnAlC is explained.