Nanostructured NiFe film was obtained on silicon with a thin gold sublayer via pulsed electrodeposition and annealed at a temperature from 100 to 400 °C in order to study the effect of heat treatment on the surface microstructure and mechanical properties. High-resolution atomic force microscopy made it possible to trace stepwise evolving microstructure under the influence of heat treatment. It was found that NiFe film grains undergo coalescence twice—at ~100 and ~300 °C—in the process of a gradual increase in grain size. The mechanical properties of the Au/NiFe nanostructured system have been investigated by nanoindentation at two various indentation depths, 10 and 50 nm. The results showed the opposite effect of heat treatment on the mechanical properties in the near-surface layer and in the material volume. Surface homogenization in combination with oxidation activation leads to abnormal strengthening and hardening-up of the near-surface layer. At the same time, a nonlinear decrease in hardness and Young’s modulus with increasing temperature of heat treatment characterizes the internal volume of nanostructured NiFe. An explanation of this phenomenon was found in the complex effect of changing the ratio of grain volume/grain boundaries and increasing the concentration of thermally activated diffuse gold atoms from the sublayer to the NiFe film.

NiFe films with a composition gradient are of particular interest from the point of view of fundamental science and practical applications. Such gradient magnetic structures may exhibit unique functional properties useful for sensory applications and beyond. The issue surrounds the anomaly concerning the compositional gradient formed near the substrate in electrolytically deposited binary and ternary iron-containing alloys, which has not previously been clearly explained. In this work, light is shed on this issue, and a clear relationship is found between the structure and surface properties of the substrate, the initially formed NiFe layers and the film composition gradient.

Nanocomposite films based on spinel ferrite (Mg_0.8Zn_0.2Fe_1.5Al_0.5O₄) in a PVA matrix were obtained. An increase in the spinel concentration to 10 wt.% caused an avalanche-like rise in roughness due to the formation of nanoparticle agglomerates. The lateral mode of atomic force microscopy (AFM) allowed us to trace the agglomeration dynamics. An unexpected result was that the composite with 6 wt.% of filler had a low friction coefficient in comparison with similar composites due to the successfully combined effects of low roughness and surface energy. The friction coefficient decreased to 0.07 when the friction coefficient of pure PVA was 0.72. A specially developed method for measuring nano-objects’ surface energy using AFM made it possible to explain the anomalous nature of the change in tribological characteristics.

The effect of microstructure on the efficiency of shielding or shunting of the magnetic flux by permalloy shields was investigated in the present work. For this purpose, the FeNi shielding coatings with different grain structures were obtained using stationary and pulsed electrodeposition. The coatings’ composition, crystal structure, surface microstructure, magnetic domain structure, and shielding efficiency were studied. It has been shown that coatings with 0.2–0.6 µm grains have a disordered domain structure. Consequently, a higher value of the shielding efficiency was achieved, but the working range was too limited. The reason for this is probably the hindered movement of the domain boundaries. Samples with nanosized grains have an ordered two-domain magnetic structure with a permissible partial transition to a superparamagnetic state in regions with a grain size of less than 100 nm. The ordered magnetic structure, the small size of the domain, and the coexistence of ferromagnetic and superparamagnetic regions, although they reduce the maximum value of the shielding efficiency, significantly expand the working range in the nanostructured permalloy shielding coatings. As a result, a dependence between the grain and domain structure and the efficiency of magnetostatic shielding was found.

The paper considers the problem of the impact of low-frequency electromagnetic fields (EMF) generated by electric vehicles (EV) and household appliances on humans in modern society. The data on the effect of EMF on human health and regulatory documents establishing requirements for electromagnetic safety are presented. The method of electromagnetic shielding and materials for the implementation of this method are considered as a promising method for solving the problem. The levels of electromagnetic radiation from a number of EV and household electrical appliances have been experimentally measured. The efficiency of electromagnetic shielding of materials based on single-layer coatings of Ni₈₀Fe₂₀ alloys, multilayer film structures Ni₈₀Fe₂₀/Cu and amorphous metal alloys AMAG172 has been estimated using a computational method. It is shown that electromagnetic screens based on these materials significantly reduce the levels of exposure to EMF of EV and household electrical appliances on humans, which allows us to approach the hygienic standards recommended by doctors and meet the requirements of regulatory documents on remote control.

Study of dimensional parameters' influence on shielding properties of cylindrical shields will allow to optimise the fusion process, as well as to reduce production costs by reducing the material used. The purpose of this work was to compare results of theoretical calculation of shielding effectiveness of an infinite cylindrical shield with the data obtained in real conditions. A cylindrical Ni-Fe shield was synthesised by electrochemical deposition with length of 32 cm, diameter of 4.5 cm and shielding thickness of approximate to 100 mu m. The cylinder length was then reduced from 32 cm to 6 cm in 4 cm increments and for each cylinder length shielding effectiveness was measured using three-coordinate Helmholtz field-forming system. The measurement results show that the calculation of shielding effectiveness of infinite cylindrical shield is valid for cylinder lengths l >= 18-20 cm. Shielding effectiveness is markedly reduced at values of l < 15 cm. Analysis of data obtained allowed to conclude that it is necessary to determine the correction factor when calculating a cylindrical screen shielding efficiency.