Structure and magnetic properties of Co-rich nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloys with low coercivity

In this study, a series of five nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloys, with compositions equally spaced between (Co(0.70)Fe(0.20)Ni(0.10))(88)Zr(7)B(4)Cu(1) and (Co(0.90)Fe(0.08)N(0.02))(88)Zr(7)B(4)Cu(1), was fabricated by melt spinning and subsequent isothermal annealing. The alloys were annealed at 823 and 1023 K for 3600 s, and the resulting structure and magnetic properties are reported. X-ray diffraction indicates that 1 h isothermal annealing at 823 K results in body-centered cubic crystallites in the Fe/Ni poor alloys and in a mixture of body-centered cubic and face-centered cubic crystallites in most Fe/Ni rich alloy. The (Co(0.90)Fe(0.08)N(0.02))(88)Zr(7)B(4)Cu(1) alloy annealed at 823 K has a low coercivity of 8 A/m and a relatively high saturation magnetization of 131.1 A m(2)/kg. The magnetic properties of these alloys are discussed in terms of their nanocrystalline microstructures. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.