Grain structure and magnetism of nanocrystalline ferromagnets

Abstract

Amorphous ribbons of composition Fe/sub 73.5/Cu/sub 1/Nb/sub 3/Si/sub 13.5/B/sub 9/ have been annealed above their crystallization temperature, which produces a homogeneous, ultrafine grain structure of alpha FeSi with typical grain diameters of 10-20 nm. The temperature dependence of saturation magnetization reveals two different magnetic phases which correspond to the alpha -FeSi grains and the grain boundary phase, respectively. The nanocrystalline material exhibits excellent soft magnetic properties which are discussed within the framework of the random anisotropy model.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>