Magnetoresistance and magnetism in Fe-Cu alloys produced by electrodeposition and mechanical alloying methods

We have attempted to produce metastable Fe-Cu-alloy by the electrodeposition (ED) and the mechanical alloying (MA) methods. The ED films exhibit a wider composition range for the bcc phase in comparison with the results for the MA samples. The composition dependence of the magnetizations show a similar tendency for the ED films and the MA samples. The magnetization curves show hysteresis for the ED films, but the hysteresis was not observed for the MA samples. The value of the maximum MR ratio and the Cu concentration showing the maximum MR are different for the samples prepared by two different methods. The maximum MR ratio is 0.4% at about 50 at.% Cu for the ED films, and is 1.7% at about 70 at.% Cu for the MA samples.