Shape-induced anisotropy in antiferromagnetic nanoparticles

High fraction of the surface atoms considerably enhances the influence of size and shape on the magnetic and electronic properties of nanoparticles. Shape effects in ferromagnetic nanoparticles are well understood and allow us to set and control the parameters of a sample that affect its magnetic anisotropy during production. In the present paper we study the shape effects in the other widely used magnetic materials – antiferromagnets, – which possess vanishingly small or zero macroscopic magnetization. We take into account the difference between the surface and bulk magnetic anisotropy of a nanoparticle and show that the effective magnetic anisotropy depends on the particle shape and crystallographic orientation of its faces. The corresponding shape-induced contribution to the magnetic anisotropy energy is proportional to the particle volume, depends on magnetostriction, and can cause formation of equilibrium domain structure. Crystallographic orientation of the nanoparticle surface determines the type of domain structure. The proposed model allows us to predict the magnetic properties of antiferromagnetic nanoparticles depending on their shape and treatment.