Coercivity and induced magnetic anisotropy by stress and/or field annealing in Fe- and Co- based (Finemet-type) amorphous alloys

Uniaxial magnetic anisotropy has been induced in amorphous Fe_73.5Cu₁Nb₃Si_15.5B₇ (Fe-rich) and (Co₇₇Si_13.5B_9.5)₉₀Fe₇Nb₃ (Co-rich) ferromagnetic alloys by annealing under stress and/or magnetic field. Such anisotropy plays a crucial role on the magnetization process and, consequently, determine the future applications of these materials. The mechanisms involved on the origin of such induced magnetic anisotropy showed significant differences between Fe-rich and Co-rich amorphous alloys. This work provides a comparative study of the coercive field and induced magnetic anisotropy in Fe-rich and Co-rich (Finemet) amorphous alloys treated by stress and/or field.     

Magnetic domain structure in Fe78.8−xCoxCu0.6Nb2.6Si9B9 nanocrystalline alloys studied by Lorentz microscopy

The magnetic domain structures of Fe_78.8−xCo_xCu_0.6Nb_2.6Si₉B₉ (x=0, 20, 40, 60) alloys are investigated by Lorentz microscopy coupled with the focused ion beam method. The specimen prepared using the FIB method is found to have a considerably more uniform thickness compared to that prepared using the ion-milling method. In Fe_38.8Co₄₀Cu_0.6Nb_2.6Si₉B₉ and Fe_18.8Co₆₀Cu_0.6Nb_2.6Si₉B₉ alloys, 180° domain walls extending in the direction of the induced magnetic anisotropy are observed. Analysis with Lorentz microscopy reveals that the width of the magnetic domains decreases with an increase in the cobalt content or the induced magnetic anisotropy K_u, that is, the domain width d is proportional to the induced magnetic anisotropy (K_u)^−1/4. On the other hand, in the in situ Lorentz microscopy observation as a function of temperature, magnetic ripple structures are found to appear in a localized area due to the fluctuation of magnetization vectors from 423 K. It is observed that the induced magnetic anisotropy caused by the applied magnetic field at 803 K is not suppressed by the magnetic ripple structures observed at 423–443 K.     

Long-term stability of soft magnetic properties of amorphous and nanocrystalline alloys based on iron

In the present paper long-term stability of magnetic properties of different amorphous and nanocrystalline alloys was studied. Magnetic properties were measured for annealed samples (300<Ta<900 K) directly after annealing and after long-term aging at room temperature. It was shown that for the Fe_75.3Cu₁Zr_1.7Si₁₃B₉ alloy magnetic permeability of the optimized samples is stable during 8 years aging. For Fe_86−xNb_xB₁₄ alloys the observed long-term instability (3 years aging) is due to annealing out of free volume leading to formations of small iron clusters coherent with the amorphous surroundings.     

Structural relaxation,crystallization and improvement of magnetic properties in FeXSiB (X=Cr,Nb)-type amorphous alloys

In the present paper, the influence of Nb and Cr on intensity of structural relaxation, crystallization processes, electric and magnetic properties in the Fe₇₆Nb₂Si₁₃B₉, Fe₇₆Cr₂Si₁₃B₉ and Fe₇₆Nb₁Cr₁Si₁₃B₉ alloys were investigated. It was shown that the improvement of magnetic permeability caused by a suitable annealing is a thermally activated process. Activation energy of this process is found to be of the order of 1 eV. Cr as an alloying addition to the Fe–Si–B alloy does not change the 1 h optimization annealing temperature and causes an increase of its efficiency. Nb as an alloying addition causes an increase of the 1 h optimization annealing temperature, and also the temperature of the first step of crystallization.     

The influence of composition and field annealing on magnetic properties of FeCo-based amorphous and nanocrystalline alloys

We report the influence of composition and very high transverse field annealing on the magnetic properties and structure of four FeCo-based amorphous and nanocrystalline alloys. The compositions (Fe₅₀Co₅₀)₈₉Zr₇B₄ and (Fe₆₅Co₃₅)₈₉Zr₇B₄ were investigated changing the Fe:Co ratio from 50:50 to 65:35. (Fe₅₀Co₅₀)₈₅Zr₂Nb₄B_8.5 was chosen to investigate Nb substitution for Zr in an FeCo-based alloy. This substitution is shown to increase the magnetostrictive constant, _λS${\lambda }_{\mathrm{S}}$, of the nanocrystalline alloy from 36×10⁻⁶ to 54×10⁻⁶. The composition (Fe₆₅Co₃₅)₈₄Cr₅Zr₇B₄ was studied to investigate the influence of Cr on intergranular coupling across the amorphous matrix. Samples of each composition were annealed in the amorphous state at 300 °C and in the nanocrystalline state at 600 °C. Field annealing was performed in 17 T transverse field in an inert atmosphere. Frequency-dependent magnetic properties were measured with an automatic recording hysteresisgraph. Static magnetic properties were measured with a vibrating sample magnetometer. The mass-specific power loss of the alloys decreased with field annealing in both the nanocrystalline and amorphous states for some frequency and induction combinations. Furthermore, the hysteresis loops are sheared after field annealing, indicating a transverse magnetic anisotropy. The nanocrystalline (Fe₅₀Co₅₀)₈₅Zr₂Nb₄B_8.5 composition has a lower relative permeability than the other compositions.     

Annealing effect on soft magnetic properties and magnetoimpedance of Finemet Fe73.5Si13.5B9Nb3Au1 alloy

Effect of annealing on the soft magnetic properties of Fe_73.5Si_13.5B₉Nb₃Au₁ amorphous ribbon has been investigated by means of structure examination, magnetoimpedance ratio (MIR) and incremental permeability ratio (PR) spectra measured in the frequency range of 1–10 MHz at a fixed current of 10 mA X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the as-cast sample was amorphous and it became nanocrystalline under a proper heat treatment. When annealing amorphous alloy at 530 °C for 30, 60, 90 min, soft magnetic properties have been improved drastically. Among the samples investigated, the sample annealed at 530 °C for 90 min showed the softest magnetic behavior. The MIR and PR curves revealed the desirable changes in anisotropy field depending upon annealing.     

Influence of rapid stress annealing on magnetic and structural properties of nanocrystalline Fe74.5Cu1Nb3Si15.5B6 alloy

Influence of rapid stress annealing on magnetic and structural properties of nanocrystalline Fe_74.5Cu₁Nb₃Si_15.5B₆ alloys is reported. Increase of stress during annealing reduces the initial permeability (from 2600 to 280) whereas the anisotropy field increases almost linearly (from 10 to 3470 A/m) showing the induction of anisotropy in the specimens. From WAXS experiments, volume fraction of the crystallites varies between 53 and 60% with quite similar average grain diameter (∼9 nm), increase of applied stress during annealing leads to the elongation of the unit cell. From Mössbauer spectra, increase of stress during annealing shows appreciable changes in spin texture.     

Effect of the addition of Ge to the FINEMET alloy

The results obtained by partially substituting Ge for B and Si in the FINEMET alloy for the purpose of improving its magnetic properties at high temperatures are presented in this work. Nanocrystalline ribbons were obtained from controlled crystallization of amorphous material made employing the melt spinning technique. The studied compositions were: Fe_73.5Si_13.5Ge₂Nb₃B₇Cu₁ and Fe_73.5Si_13.5Ge₄Nb₃B₅Cu₁. The structural evolution of these alloys was studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and these results were correlated with their magnetic properties at different annealing temperatures. The coercivity obtained for both alloys was below 1 A/m at anneling temperatures between 773 and 823 K. The amorphous saturation magnetization was satisfactory, almost 137 emu/g, comparable with that obtained for FINEMET alloys. The nanocrystallization and the Curie temperatures are dependent on Ge concentration.     

Rapid stress annealing dependence of structural and magnetic properties of Fe75 − x Co x Cu1Nb3Si15B6 alloys

Structural and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Fe_75???x Co _x Cu₁ Nb₃Si₁₅B₆ (x?=?0, 2, 5) alloys are reported using magnetic measurements X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy. Results show that: (1) for the specimens with x?=?0 reveal that the volume fraction of the nanograins and their grain diameter ranges between 56% and 80% and 10 and 18 nm, (2) annealing above 700°C apart from Fe₃Si type nanocrystals, magnetically hard Fe₃B, Fe₂₃B phases also appear, leading to a sharp increase of the coercive field, (3) Co content and applied stress during annealing has considerable effect on relative permeability and stress induced anisotropy, which is perpendicular to the ribbon axis, Mössbauer spectroscopy also suggests changes in spin texture.     

Permeability-frequency spectra of (Fe1−xcox)73.5Cu1Nb3Si13.5B9 nanocrystalline alloys under different magnetic fields

Under various amplitude of AC magnetic fields domain wall motion is the main mechanism in the magnetization process. This includes domain wall bulging and domain wall displacing. In this paper complex permeability-frequency spectra of (Fe_1−xCo_x)_73.5Cu₁Nb₃Si_13.5B₉ (x=0,0.5$x=0,0.5$) nanocrystalline alloys were measured as a function of the AC magnetic field, ranging from 0.001 to 0.04 Oe. Obvious changes have been found in complex permeability spectra for alloy x=0$x=0$ with the change of the amplitude of AC magnetic field, but variation of AC magnetic field has little effect on complex permeability spectra for alloy x=0.5$x=0.5$. This is attributed to the increased pinning field after substitution of Fe with Co in Fe_73.5Cu₁Nb₃Si_13.5B₉ nanaocrystalline alloy.     

High frequency behaviours and Mssbauer study of field annealed FeCuNbSiB alloy ribbons

This paper investigates the high frequency behaviours and magnetic anisotropy of rapidly solidified FINEMET (Fe73.5Si13.5B9Nb3Cu1) alloy ribbons annealed in an applied magnetic field. It finds that the ribbons annealed with the applied magnetic field show much higher resonance frequencies and have even higher permeability at higher frequencies than the samples annealed without the magnetic field and the non-annealed ribbons. Mssbauer spectroscopy had been employed to study the spatial distribution of the magnetic moments of five selected FINEMET alloy ribbons in different heat-treated conditions. The results show that an easy plane has been established after annealling in the magnetic field, while for the other ribbons this effect is not significant. Hence, the relationship between magnetic field annealing and high frequency property has been bridged by the bianisotropic theory.     

Magnetic properties and temperature stability of a molybdenum-doped finemet-type alloy

The influence of nanocrystallization conditions on the structure, magnetic properties, and temperature stability of nanocrystalline magnetically soft Fe_73.5Cu₁Nb_1.5Mo_1.5Si_13.5B₉ alloy is studied. It is found that preliminary low-temperature annealing exerts an influence on subsequent nanocrystallization of the alloy. In addition, preannealing followed by nanocrystallization considerably improves the magnetic properties of the alloy. It is shown that the magnetic properties of the material can be controlled by varying the frequency of a magnetic field used for thermal treatment causing nanocrystallization. It is established that the magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Fe_73.5Cu₁Nb_1.5Mo_1.5Si_13.5B₉ alloy offer a high temperature stability.     

Atmospheric corrosion of different Fe-based alloys in nanocrystalline state

Nanocrystalline Fe-based alloys are interesting for their soft magnetic properties. Because these alloys are potentially applicable in outdoor-working components, their corrosion behaviour requires careful analysis. This work presents the results of the atmospheric corrosion tests in industrial and rural environments performed for up to 6 months. We compared the corrosion behaviour of two different compositions of NANOPERM-type alloys: Fe_87.5Zr_6.5B₆ and Fe₇₆Mo₈Cu₁B₁₅ with classical FINEMET alloys of the nominal composition of Fe_73.5Cu₁Nb₃Si_13.5B₉ type. The techniques of Mössbauer spectroscopy, conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy have been employed to compare their corrosion rate, characterize corrosion products and inspect the structural changes of the nanocrystalline structure. It was found that the Si-containing FINEMET alloys are the most corrosion-resistant whereas worse corrosion properties were observed for molybdenum-containing Fe₇₆Mo₈Cu₁B₁₅ alloy. The corrosion product formed on the surface of NANOPERM-type alloys showed a needlelike morphology and a poor crystalline order and has been identified as lepidocrocite, γ-FeOOH.     

Fe39.4－xCo40Si9B9Nb2.6Cux纳米晶合金的有效磁各向异性研究

采用多晶材料趋近饱和定律研究了非晶Fe_39.4-xCo₄₀Si₉B₉Nb_2.6Cu_x(x=0.5,1,1.5) 合金在不同温度纳米晶化后的有效磁各向异性常数〈K〉.结果表明， Cu含量较低(x=0.5)时，纳米晶粒较大并且在较低的退火温度(550℃)下析出硬磁相，〈K〉随退火温度T_a升高显著增加；随着Cu含量的增加，有效地细化了晶粒，并且抑制了硼化物的析出，〈K〉明显减小.讨论了〈K〉与晶粒尺寸D及初始磁导率的关系. 关键词： 纳米晶 有效磁各向异性 磁导率 FeCo基合金     

退火加热速度对Fe-Cu-Nb(V)-Si-B纳米晶合金磁性的影响

研究了退火温度为550℃的纳米晶化过程中加热速度对Fe_72.7Cu₁Nb₂V_1.8Si_13.5B₉与Fe_73.5Cu₁Nb₃Si_13.5B₉合金磁性的影响．磁性测量结果表明，退火加热速度对这两种合金软磁性能有明显的影响，快速加热可显著提高合金的初始磁导率μ_{i 关键词：}     

Effect of crystallization annealing under loading on the magnetic properties and the structure of a soft magnetic FeSiNbCuB alloy doped with chromium

The changes of quasi-static magnetic hysteresis loops and X-ray diffraction patterns of the Fe_73.5Si_13.5B₉Nb₃Cu₁ doped to 10 at % chromium instead of iron have been studied to elucidate the influence of the thermomechanical treatment consisting of annealing and cooling of the alloy under the tensile stress (tensile-stress annealing (TSA)) on the magnetic properties and the structure of these alloys. It is shown that the treatment results in the induction of the magnetic anisotropy of the hard axis type at which the magnetization reversal along the direction of applying the external stress during annealing is hampered. The energy of the induced magnetic anisotropy decreases as the chromium content increases. During TSA, the nanocrystal lattices are deformed, and the deformation is retained after cooling. The interplanar spacings increase along the extension direction and decrease in the transverse direction. The deformation anisotropy is observed for crystallographic directions. The anisotropic deformation of the bcc lattice of nanocrystals with high content of the ordered Fe₃Si phase characterized by a negative magnetoelastic interaction is the cause of formation of the state with the transverse magnetic anisotropy of the hard axis type.     

Off-diagonal magnetoimpedance in stress-annealed amorphous ribbons

The influence of creep-induced magnetic anisotropy on the off-diagonal magnetoimpedance in amorphous Co₆₇Fe₄Cr₇Si₈B₁₄ ribbon is investigated. Hard-ribbon-axis anisotropy is produced by continuous stress annealing. On applying DC bias current, the off-diagonal impedance becomes an antisymmetric function of applied field with a quasi-linear part around the zero field. Theoretical explanation of the phenomenon is based on classical electrodynamics. It is shown that the maximum on the frequency dependence of off-diagonal impedance, observed around 1 MHz, results from competition between the electromagnetic induction and the skin effect. The quasi-linear characteristic can be utilized in low-cost high-sensitive magnetic field sensors.     

Study of rapid stress annealed nano-crystalline Fe74.5Cu1Nb3Si15.5B6 alloy

Rapid stress annealing induced changes in structural and magnetic properties in Fe_74.5Cu₁Nb₃Si_15.5B₆ are reported. Obtained results suggest changes in spin texture with preferred orientation along ribbon axis. Fraction of A site in the DO₃ lattice occupied by Si atoms, increases, with increase of applied stress during annealing. Volume fraction of the nanograins up to 60% (exhibiting quite similar mean grain diameter ～9 nm) is observed. Lattice parameter values suggest that Si content in the nanocrystalline phase is between 14% and 19% and increase of lattice parameter suggests the elongation of the unit cell. Studied stress annealed samples exhibit soft magnetic behavior (coercive field ranging between 4 and 8 Am^???1). Stress annealing reduces permeability whereas anisotropy field increases almost linearly exhibiting the induction of uniaxial and perpendicular to the ribbon axis anisotropy. Obtained stress-induced-anisotropy constant values range between 50 and 2,140 Jm^???3.     

应力退火Fe基纳米晶薄带横向磁各向异性的介观结构研究

用原子力显微镜(AFM)观测了不同张应力退火的Fe基纳米晶(Fe_73.5Cu₁Nb₃Si_13.5B₉)薄带横断面的形貌，并结合X射线衍射(XRD)图谱对不同张应力退火的Fe基纳米晶薄带的介观结构进行分析；测量了不同张应力退火Fe基纳米晶薄带的纵向驱动巨磁阻抗(LDGMI)曲线及横向磁各向异性场；认为张应力退火Fe基纳米晶薄带感生横向磁各向异性场的介观结构机理，是由于外加张应力退火产生由非晶相包裹着的α-Fe(Si)纳米晶粒(包裹晶粒)的横向优势团聚. 关键词： 应力退火 介观结构 AFM 团聚     

Co-Si-B and Fe-Co-B amorphous alloys: Induced anisotropy and various magnetic properties

The dependence on the metalloid content of some magnetic properties of Co_100−x(Si_0.6B_0.4)_x (22.5 ⩽ x ⩽ 30) and Co₇₅Si_25−xB_x (10 ⩽ x ⩽ 25) amorphous alloys has been studied.Ribbons were subjected to different kinds of heating treatments: field annealing, stress annealing and stress-field annealing (tensile stress and longitudinal magnetic field applied simultaneously). While the anisotropies induced by simple field annealings are of the order of magnitude of 0.1 kJm^-3, the anisotropy induced by stress-field annealing can reach values up to 0.5 kJm^-3. The preferred axis is longitudinal for most of the annealing conditions. The temperature and composition dependence of the magnetostriction have been studied too.Stress, field and stress-field induced anisotropies have also been measured in Co₆₆Fe₉B₂₅ samples (λ_s > 0). In this case the preferred axis is transverse to the ribbon axis.