EXAFS study of the atomic structure of amorphous Tb20Fe80

The atomic structure of amorphous Tb₂₀Fe₈₀ thin films has been studied by Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) of both FeK and TbL _III absorption edges. The local site geometry around Fe atoms shows predominantly Fe nearest neighbors with an Fe-Fe distance distribution centered on 2.50±0.02 Å and a coordination number of 9.1±1. In contrast, the radial structure function (RSF) obtained at the Tb edge is broad and asymmetric. The peak in the RSF corresponds to a Tb-Fe near neighbor distance of 2.94±0.1 Å with no evidence for Tb-Tb nearest neighbor coordination. The width and the shape of the RSF suggest that the Tb-Fe atomic environment is anisotropic and strained probably as a consequence of the growth process. This distorted atomic environment is suggested to be responsible for the magnetic anisotropy in these alloys. Thermal annealing at 200 °C leads to reduction inK _u. We propose that this results from reordering of the Tb local environment such that the average structural anisotropy in the distribution is reduced. EXAFS data show that annealing at 400°C causes precipitation of bcc polycrystalline Fe. The addition of 7 at.% Au to the alloy prevents this recrystallization and preserves the amorphous state but does not prevent the structural relaxation which reducesK _u at lower temperatures.