Nanocrystallization and soft magnetic properties of Fe/sub 85.4/Zr/sub 6.8-x/Nb/sub x/B/sub 6.8/Cu/sub 1/ (x=0, 1) alloys

Summary form only given. The nanocrystallization process of the amorphous Fe/sub 85.4/Zr/sub 6.8-x/Nb/sub x/B/sub 6.8/Cu/sub 1/ (x=0, 1) alloys was studied by the differential scanning calorimetry, Mossbauer spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, the authors have measured the magnetic properties, i.e. magnetic susceptibility, its disaccommodation and core losses, of samples annealed in the temperature range from 688 K to 800 K. From DSC studies, using the Kissinger method, they have found that the replacement of 1% of Zr atoms by Nb atoms in the Fe/sub 85.4/Zr/sub 6.8/B/sub 6.8/Cu/sub 1/ alloy leads to the decrease of the primary crystallization activation energy from 118 kJ/mol to 94 kJ/mol. The crystalline grains of the /spl alpha/-Fe phase in the nanocrystalline Fe/sub 85.4/Zr/sub 5.8/Nb/sub 1/B/sub 6.8/Cu/sub 1/ alloy are more refined.