Analysis of the magnetoresistance contributions in a nanocrystallized Cr-doped FINEMET alloy

The magnetoresistance (MR) was measured at 200, 250 and 300 K in magnetic fields up to B=12 T for a nanocrystallized Fe_63.5Cr₁₀Nb₃Cu₁Si_13.5B₉ alloy. Both the longitudinal (LMR) and transverse (TMR) component of the magnetoresistance decreased from B=0 to about 0.1 T. This could be ascribed to a giant MR (GMR) effect due to spin-dependent scattering of conduction electrons along their path between two Fe-Si nanograins via the non-magnetic matrix. Such a scattering may occur if the nanograin moments are not or only weakly coupled in the absence of a strong exchange coupling (due to the high Cr content in the matrix) and/or only weak dipole-dipole coupling is present (due to sufficiently large separations between the nanograins). For larger fields, the GMR saturated and a slightly nonlinear increase in MR with B was observed due to a contribution by the residual amorphous matrix. The anisotropic MR effect (AMR≡LMR−TMR) was negative for all fields and temperatures investigated. By measuring the MR of melt-quenched Fe_100−xSi_x solid solutions with x=15, 18, 20, 25 and 28, the observed AMR could be identified as originating from the Fe-Si nanograins having a D0₃ structure.     

Magnetic and structural properties of nitrified FINEMET powder using mechanical milling method

The magnetic and structural properties of FINEMET [Fe_73.5Si_13.5B₉Nb₃Cu₁ wt%] amorphous powder were investigated after nitrification and mechanical milling. Fe-based amorphous powder were nitrified and crystallized simultaneously at 550 °C using by ammonia (NH₃) gas. Nitrified powder exhibited iron nitride phase such as γ′-Fe₄N, Fe₃N, and α″-Fe₁₆N₂. Nitrified particles were more brittle than raw particles. As a result, nanometer-sized nitride powder was fabricated by high-energy ball milling method. The saturation magnetization (M_s) and coercivity (H_c) of nitrified powder were increased due to nitride phase.     

Dynamic coercivity of Mo-doped FINEMETs

The structure and the dc magnetic behavior of FINEMET-type alloys doped with molybdenum have been recently reported. Most commercial applications of these materials are, however, not at dc but at high magnetizing frequencies. Therefore, we report a study of the frequency dependence of coercivity, H_c(f), in amorphous and nanocrystalline ribbons of composition Fe_73.5Si_13.5Nb_3−xMo_xB₉Cu₁ (x=0, 1.5 and 3) in the frequency range from 0.5 to 1.3 kHz. The nature of H_c(f) measurements revealed the influence of eddy currents in the magnetization of samples. The frequency dependence of coercivity did not vary with the molybdenum content in the amorphous samples. All the alloys exhibited a systematic improvement in the coercivity after nanocrystallization and it was found that this improvement was better as more Nb was replaced by Mo.     

EXAFS studies of nanostructured Finemet‐type alloys

The nanostructure of nanocrystalline Fe₆₆Cr₈Cu₁Nb₃Si₁₃B₉ alloys has been studied using extended X‐ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and analyzed by the cumulant method. Application of the cumulant method enables us to determine the nearest‐neighbor interatomic distance and the coordination number for chromium and copper atoms, and thus we are able to obtain detailed knowledge about the role of both Cr and Cu in the structure of nanocrystals at various stages of crystallization. A detailed analysis of the distribution of alloying elements in the grains and grain boundaries reveals the accumulation of Cr in the surrounding of Fe(Si) nanocrystals. The presence of Cr in the surroundings of Fe(Si) can influence the content's arrangement of the nanograins, allowing diffusion of Si atoms in the grain boundaries. Simulated X‐ray absorption spectra of the model produced by FEFF9.05 and the proposed Cu clustering of 19 atoms with average cluster size of about 0.4 nm show a good resemblance to the experimental data of the Cu k‐edge.     

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.     

High frequency behaviours and Mossbauer study of field annealed FeCuNbSiB alloy ribbons

This paper investigates the high frequency behaviours and magnetic anisotropy of rapidly solidified FINEMET （Fe73.5Si13.sBgNb3Cul） 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. MSssbauer 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.     

Nanocrystals magnetic contribution to FINEMET-type soft magnetic materials with Ge addition

Over the last years several works have been published in which magnetic and structural properties of soft magnetic nanocrystalline alloys were reported. Among these, there are a series of articles where the nanocrystals composition of FINEMET-type alloys with Ge addition was obtained by Mössbauer spectroscopy (MS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). By considering a linear relationship between the magnetic moments of the nanocrystals and the composition of various elements in these crystallites, the magnetic moment of the nanocrystals was calculated. This paper reviews results obtained by different authors since 1980 and they are compared with ours. In turn, we revised some elements not previously considered for the calculus of the nanocrystals composition that allowed us to obtain the magnetic moment of the crystallites in the alloy. In particular, we analyzed FINEMET-type alloys with replacement of B for Ge: Fe_73.5Si_13.5Ge₂B₇Nb₃Cu₁ and Fe_73.5Si_13.5Ge₄B₅Nb₃Cu₁. The nanocrystalline structure was obtained by isothermal annealing of melt-spun ribbons at 823 K for 1 h. From MS and XRD we obtained the atomic composition of the nanocrystals in the magnetic material. The magnetic contribution of the nanocrystals to the alloy was calculated using a linear model and the results were compared with experimental measurements of the samples.     

Structural characterization and magnetoimpedance effect in amorphous and nanocrystalline AlGe-substituted FeSiBNbCu ribbons

Two series of rapidly solidified FINEMET (Fe_73.5Si_13.5B₉Nb₃Cu₁) alloys with and without partial substitution of Al (1.5 at%)/Ge (1 at%) were prepared by melt-spinning technique. The nanocrystallization process was carried out by the heat treatment of the as-spun ribbons at 560 °C for 1 h in a vacuum furnace. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), Mössbauer spectroscopy, and magnetoimpedance (MI) measurements were conducted on the as-quenched and heat-treated alloys to investigate their structural and magnetic properties. The average crystallite sizes obtained for the heat-treated samples were in the range of 10–12 nm as confirmed by our XRD and TEM data. The ultrasoft magnetic behavior observed for the Al/Ge-substituted nanocrystalline alloys was confirmed both by our magnetic data and magnetoimpedance ratio (MIR%) results. A twofold increase in the magnitude of the MIR% (99%) was observed for the Al/Ge-substituted nanocrystalline alloy against that of the pure FINEMET alloy (∼48%) measured at 5.5 MHz. This is believed to be related to the decrease of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy as well as magnetostriction decline due to the Al substitution for Fe atoms in this nanostructured alloy.     

Three-dimensional atomic scale analysis of nanostructured materials

The 3-dimensional atom probe (3DAP) has been used to provide atomic-scale microcharacterisation of a number of nanostructured materials. Grain boundary segregation has been investigated in electrodeposited nanocrystalline nickel and Ni-P. In the nanocrystalline nickel, there was no observable grain boundary segregation in the as-deposited condition. After annealing, carbon and sulphur contamination was found at the boundary of an abnormally-grown grain. In the as-deposited Ni-P alloy, only limited grain boundary segregation of P is seen, but annealing produces significant segregation and the formation of Ni₃P precipitates at grain boundaries. The phase chemistry in a melt-spun amorphous Fe-Si-Cu-Nb-B-Al (FINEMET-type) alloy has also been studied, and the hetereogeneous nucleation of Fe-Si nanocrystals at Cu precipitates shown conclusively. It is found that at early stages of crystallisation, there is only limited partitioning of the Si between the nanocrystals and the amorphous matrix. Atom probe studies of thin layered films have historically been limited by specimen preparation problems, but recent advances have now yielded data on metallic multilayer films. This has allowed atomic-scale measurements of interface chemistry in these films for the first time.     

Domain imaging in FINEMET ribbons

The magnetization behaviour of a ferromagnetic material depends on its domain structure, which in turn is largely determined by magnetic anisotropies. In this work, domain patterns were observed by a quite forgotten but still the simplest and the cheapest technique: the Bitter method. A systematic study of the evolution of the domain structure in FINEMET ribbons after thermal annealing is presented, correlating the results with the crystalline structure, magnetostriction and coercivity measurements.