Curie Temperature and Microstructural Changes Due to the Heating Treatment of Magnetic Amorphous Materials

Three distinct alloys: Fe₈₆Zr₇Nb₁Cu₁B₅, Fe₈₂Zr₇Nb₂Cu₁B₈, and Fe₈₁Pt₅Zr₇Nb₁Cu₁B₅ were characterized both magnetically and structurally. The samples, obtained with spinning roller method as a ribbons 3 mm in width and 20 μm thick, were investigated as-quenched and after each step of a multi steps heating treatment procedure. Each sample was annealed at four steps, fifteen minutes at every temperature, starting from 573K+600K up to +700K depending on type of alloy. Mössbauer spectroscopy data and transmission electron microscope (HRE M) pictures confirmed that the as-quenched samples are fully amorphous. This is not changed after the first stages of treatment heating leads to a reduction of free volumes. The heating treatment has a great influence on the magnetic susceptibilities. The treatment up to 600K improves soft magnetic properties: an χ increase was observed, from about 400 to almost 1000 for the samples of alloys without Pt, and from about 200 to 450 at maximum, for the Fe₈₁Pt₅Zr₇Nb₁Cu₁B₅. Further heating, at more elevated temperatures, leads to magnetic hardening of the samples. Curie temperatures, established from the location of Hopkinson’s maxima on the χ(T) curve are in very good agreement with those obtained from the data of specific magnetization, σ(T), measured in a field of 0.75T. As a critical parameter β was chosen to be equal 0.36 for these calculations, it confirmed that the alloys may be considered as ferromagnetic of Heisenberg type. Heating treatment resulted in decreasing of TC. These changes are within a range of several K.