The study of structural relaxation kinetics in amorphous alloy Fe73.5Nb3Cu1Si13.5B9 using Curie temperature measurements

The structural relaxation and the initial stage of crystallization of rapidly quenched finemet-type Fe73.5Nb3Cu1Si13.5B9 alloy were studied using both continuous heating and isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It is found that Curie temperature of amorphous phase TcA increases with the annealing temperature, as well as with an increase in the heat treatment duration. The crystallization process starts at 460 °C. The microstructural evolution and the redistribution of elements were investigated by DSC, thermomagnetic analysis, Mِssbauer spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction methods. The pre-crystallization process results in the changes of hyperfine interactions in the amorphous phase, which are caused by clustering during the relaxation process.