Heterostructured crystallization mechanism and its effect on enlarging the processing window of Fe-based nanocrystalline alloys

The harsh melt-spinning and annealing processes of high saturation magnetization nanocrystalline softmagnetic alloys are the biggest obstacles for their industrialization. Here, we proposed a novel strategy to enlarge the processing window by annealing the partially crystallized precursor ribbons via a heterostructured crystallization process. The heterostructured evolution of Fe_84.75Si₂B₉P_3C0.5Cu_0.75(at.%)alloy ribbons with different spinning rate were studied in detail, to demonstrate the gradient nucleation and grain refinement mechanisms. The nanocrystalline alloys made with industrially acceptable spinning rate of 25-30 m/s and normal annealing process exhibit excellent magnetic properties and fine nanostructure. The small quenched-in crystals/clusters in the free surface of the low spinning rate ribbons will not grow to coarse grains, because of the competitive grain growth and shielding effect of metalloid elements rich interlayer with a high stability. Avoiding the precipitation of quenched-in coarse grains in precursor ribbons is thus a new criterion for the composition and process design, which is more convenient than the former one with respect to the homogenous crystallization mechanism, and enable us to produce high performance nanocrystalline soft-magnetic alloys. This strategy is also suitable for improving the compositional adjustability, impurity tolerance, and enlarging the window of melt temperature,which is an important reference for the future development of composition and process.     

Influence of wheel speed during planar flow melt spinning on the microstructure and soft magnetic properties of Fe<Subscript>68.5</Subscript>Si<Subscript>18.5</Subscript>B<Subscript>9</Subscript>Nb<Subscript>3</Subscript>Cu<Subscript>1</Subscript> ribbons

The structure and soft magnetic properties of Fe_68.5Si_18.5B₉Nb₃Cu₁ (at.%) alloy ribbons produced through planar flow melt spinning at different wheel speeds viz. 34, 17 and 12 m/s have been investigated using X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, transmission electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer and positron lifetime spectroscopy. Amorphous ribbons formed with different wheel speeds manifested different enthalpy and activation energy of crystallization. The volume fraction of nanocrystalline phase, saturation magnetization and permeability are found to increase whereas coercivity is found to decrease with increasing wheel speed on annealing. A detailed analysis of positron lifetime spectra obtained from the as-spun ribbons has been used to rationalize the variation in microstructure and magnetic properties. The presence of larger number of defects at higher wheel speed increases the volume fraction of nanocrystalline phase on annealing which improves the soft magnetic properties.     

Microstructure change in Fe-based metallic glass and nanocrystalline alloy induced by liquid nitrogen treatment

The effects of acyclic liquid nitrogen(LN) treatment in a temperature range of -196℃ to 50℃ on the thermal and magnetic stability of Fe_(78)Si_9B_(13) and Fe_(73.5)Si_(13.5)B_9Nb_3Cu_1 glassy ribbons have been studied.The intrinsic heterogeneities of the metallic glasses can be activated through cryogenic thermal cycling,making irreversible structural changes after the treatment and inducing rejuvenation to the materials.The microstructural changes of both Fe-based metallic glass(MG) and nanocrystalline alloy induced by LN treatment were investigated. The experimental results show that the LN treatment could effectively rejuvenate the Fe-Si-B MGs and change their thermomechanical and magnetic properties. Based on the partially-crystallinity and well-known magnetic constants, the increase of the energy at the order of 10m J/g and magnetic domain wall movement and rotation at the order of 5-6 μm and 0.5°-0.8°are found for FINEMET-type amorphous alloy after LN treatment. It is also found that LN treatment can contribute a little stored energy to the magnetic domain wall movement and magnetic domain rotation.     

Anisotropic Magnetoresistance Effect in Amorphous and Nanocrystalline Fe(Cu,Nb)-Si-B Alloys

1. IntroductionRecent works on the properties of Fe-basednanocrystalline alloys have generated considerable interest in the filed of materials because of their excellent soft magnetic characteristi.s[1'21. As a newlydeveloped material, the origin of the excellent softmagnetic characteristics was not clear yet. H..z.r[3]et al. have suggested that smaller magnetic crystallineanisotropy is one of the most important factors whichdominate the excellent soft magnetic characteristics,but the explanat…     

Preparation and Characterization of Multilayered Al/Fe-Mo-Si-B Alloy with Nanostructure

The bulk multilayered Al/Fe-Mo-Si-B alloy with nanostructure was prepared by annealing the alternate layers consisting of metal Al and amorphous (Fe0.99,Mo0.01)78 Si9B13 alloy ribbons for 30 min at 873 K under pressure of 3~5.5 GPa. The structures and grain sizes of the Fe-MoSi-B nanocrystalline alloy were measured and analyzed. It was found that the pressure could restrain the growth of the grains and influence the formation of phases. The dependence of grain sizes for α-Fe(Mo,Si) and Fe2B on pressure was given. The morphologies of Al/Fe-Mo-SiB nanocrystalline alloy intedeces were observed by SEM. Two intedecial phases formed at various pressures were established by TEM and EDAX, and an unknown Fe-rich one with nanostructure was also observed. The dependence of the intedecial phases on pressure and its formation and growth mechanism were discussed     

Dynamics of domains and walls in soft magnetic films

General equations are derived to describe the simultaneous nonuniform planar rotations of the magnetization vector and displacements of curved domain walls and their junctions in soft magnetic films. These equations take into account effects of exchange stiffness, magnetic anisotropy, external and either long- or short-range demagnetizing fields, wall energy, and dissipation. The case of a matched film pair using the capacitor or transmission-surface approximation for its short-range demagnetizing energy is considered. The theory is founded on energy and dissipation functionals including domain and wall terms. The constraint of wall-normal magnetization continuity across a domain wall is handled by a method of implementing d'Alembert's virtual work principle without introducing Lagrange multipliers. The result is a set of coupled equations expressing the dynamic torque balance at points inside domains, the wall-domain constraint due to wall-normal magnetization continuity, an additional boundary condition coupling domain magnetization and wall curves, and the wall velocity.<>     

Rotational hysteresis in polycrystalline alloys

Rotational hysteresis has been studied at very low rotational speeds in nearly isotropic polycrystalline materials. Measurements were made on disc shaped samples of pure iron, 1.2% C steel and mild steel. The magnitude and direction of the moment were measured as the disc was rotated starting from an initial magnetization parallel to the external field. For large angles of rotation the measurements give the usual hysteresis loss measured in continually rotating specimens. However it was also possible to measure the approach to the steady state and the response of the moment to small changes in the direction of the external field. The results are explained in terms of two models, one appropriate to low fields, below the maximum in the rotational loss curve, the other to the high field regime. At low fields the losses are due to domain wall motion, and the model predicts that the ratio of alternating to rotational loss ispisqrt{2}. At high fields the loss is thought to be due to a mechanism not present in alternating fields. This is the unstable rotation of the magnetization in each grain past its direction of difficult magnetization. To test the model Barkhausen noise measurements were made under alternating and rotating conditions. The results are compared with numerical calculations on the behaviour of 25 interacting dipoles.     

Large electrical resistivity and high saturation magnetization nanocrystalline Fe86B13Cu1 alloy prepared by hot isothermal pressing

The effects of hot isothermal pressing (HIP) on the microstructures and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Fe₈₆B₁₃Cu₁ ribbons were studied. It is shown that the precipitation of Fe₃B phase is suppressed and the grain size of α-Fe phase decreases to 13.2 nm when amorphous Fe₈₆B₁₃Cu₁ ribbons are annealed by HIP under the pressure of 150 MPa. A high electrical resistivity and high saturation magnetization nanocrystalline soft magnetic material is prepared by HIP owing to the suppression of the precipitation of Fe₃B phase and a marked decrease in the grain size of α-Fe phase. The prepared sample exhibits a large electrical resistivity of 183 μΩ cm, a high saturation magnetization of 1.94 T and a low coercive force of 12 A/m.     

Influence of cerium content on the structure and magnetic behavior of Co-Fe-Cu-Ce permanent magnets

As part of a continuing program to understand and optimize the magnetic behavior of Co-Fe-Cu-Ce permanent magnet alloys, we have made studies on the alloy system Co3.5Fe0.5CuCexwith x in the range 0.8 to 1.2. An alloy of x = 1 had previously been studied in detail and found to have good permanent magnet properties. In the present work, it was found that when x > 1, the coercive force was increased while both the Curie temperature and saturation magnetization were decreased. However when x < 1, the coercive force tends to decrease while the Curie temperature and saturation magnetization increase. The increase in coercive force with increase in cerium content can be accounted for largely by the decrease in saturation magnetization. These results are in accord with a domain wall pinning mechanism. Scanning electron microscopy studies have shown that a major second phase in the low cerium alloys is low in copper as compared with the matrix. On the contrary, the copper content of the second phase in the high cerium alloys is larger than that in the matrix.     

Domain wall bowing interpretation of eddy current loss measurements in a

The measurements of cyclic magnetization loss in a 3% Si-Fe monocrystal with known domain structures reported by Swift et al. [1] are compared with the predictions of the Pry and Bean model [2], a skew planar wall model [3], and a model of domain wall bowing which neglects the dependence of domain wall energy per unit area on the crystallographic orientation of the wall [4]. Detailed agreement is not obtained, but the trend of the bowing model behaviour is encouraging. Consideration of the consequences of the dependence of wall energy on orientation indicates that it should assist the initiation of bowing at lower frequencies and restrain severe bowing at high frequencies. This is expected to lead to a reduction in the losses, especially at low frequencies, and to a general straightening of the loss/frequency characteristic in accord with the trend of the observations. The discrepancy between the measured losses and the Pry and Bean model has previously been attributed [1] to edge effects according to the calculations of Young et al. [5]. It is shown in the present paper, however, that the Pry and Bean model requires negligible correction for edge effects provided the domain walls are well separated on the scale of the sheet thickness.     

Dynamics of field-driven domain-wall propagation in ferromagnetic nanowires

Ferromagnetic nanowires are likely to play an important role in future spintronic devices. Magnetic domain walls, which separate regions of opposing magnetization in a nanowire, can be manipulated and used to encode information for storage or to perform logic operations. Owing to their reduced size and dimensionality, the characterization of domain-wall motion is an important problem. To compete with other technologies, high-speed operation, and hence fast wall propagation, is essential. However, the domain-wall dynamics in nanowires has only been investigated in the last five years and some results indicate a drastic slowing down of wall motion in higher magnetic fields. Here we show that the velocity-field characteristic of a domain wall in a nanowire shows two linear regimes, with the wall mobility at high fields reduced tenfold from that at low fields. The transition is marked by a region of negative differential mobility and highly irregular wall motion. These results are in accord with theoretical predictions that, above a threshold field, uniform wall movement gives way to turbulent wall motion, leading to a substantial drop in wall mobility. Our results help resolve contradictory reports of wall propagation velocities in laterally confined geometries, and underscore the importance of understanding and enhancing the breakdown field for practical applications.     

Models for I and T pattern permalloy bars based upon bitter pattern observation of domain wall movements

The magnetostatic fields of the I and T pattern Permalloy overlay bars are analyzed by proposing a model based on the Bitter pattern observation of the domain wall structure in Permalloy bars. The magnetic charges that appear on the 90° domain walls are assumed to be the sources of the magnetic fields of the bars. The model has a two-dimensional reaction to an applied rotating in-plane field due to its two-dimensional domain wall movement and the consequent two-dimensional change of magnetic domain pattern inside the bar. The magnetization of the bar is equal to Msthe saturation magnetization of the bar at every section of the bar except on the domain walls. The magnetization curve and the magnetic field well Bz(bubble drive field) under the overlay bars are calculated and compared to that of the previous models. A qualitative explanation of the rotation of the bubble around the bars is given by the three-dimensional plots of the field well obtained for different orientations of the in-plane field.     

Effect of cooling rate on dynamic magnetization of Fe86Zr7B6Cu nanocrystalline alloy

The complex permeability spectra in Fe₈₆Zr₇B₆Cu nanocrystalline alloy are studied by varying ac field amplitude and the cooling rate after annealing. It is shown that the initial permeability and the relaxation frequency strongly depend on the extent of domain wall pining. Slow cooling may result in the nucleation of the short-range atomic ordering in domain walls, whereas fast cooling may induce internal stress. Both the too slow cooling and the too fast cooling would make the additional pinning sites form in domain walls, which may strengthen the domain wall pining and make the permeability decrease and the relaxation frequency increase. The control of cooling rate is one of most important factors to improve the soft magnetic properties of Fe₈₆Zr₇B₆Cu nanocrystalline alloy.     

Relationship between microstructure and magnetic domain structure of Nd--Fe--B melt-spun ribbon magnets

The relation between the microstructure, observed using an electron probe microanalyzer, and the domain structure, observed using a Kerr microscope, was established to evaluate the effects of hot rolling and the addition of Ti--C on the c-axis orientation and the magnetization process of hot-rolled Nd--Fe--B--Ti--C melt-spun ribbons. The addition of Ti--C promotes the c-axis orientation and high coercivity in the ribbons. Elemental mapping suggests a uniform elemental distribution; however, an uneven distribution of Ti was observed in an enlarged grain with Ti-enriched points inside the grain. The reversal domains that nucleated at the Ti-enriched point inside the grain cause low coercivity.     

铁基纳米晶合金的介观结构(英文)

团聚结构是影响铁基纳米晶合金软磁性能和GMI效应的重要介观结构。本文用原子力显微镜和高分辨场发射电子显微镜对铁基纳米晶合金薄带横断面的介观结构进行了研究。结果表明在铁基纳米晶合金薄带中具有纳米晶粒的团聚结构,其大小约为200nm。结合X射线衍射分析推断这个团聚结构大约由104个纳米晶粒组成,称之为介观结构相。     

Observations on permanent magnets related to damping effects in levitation devices

Microscopic observations applying high, variable magnetic fields on surfaces of high-coercivity magnets reveal hysteretic magnetization changes by domain wall movements. Lines, formerly believed to be grain boundaries, are moving with changing magnetic fields during the magnetization reversal. Domain wall motions are shown on single micrographs which were selected from sequences of micrographs depicting magnetization cycles on commercial-grade magnets of barium ferrite and of samarium cobalt. The observed processes are believed to consume energy; they can be responsible for the damping of oscillations which was experienced before in magnetic bearings.     

Magnetization reversal in finite and infinite square prisms

We present first 3D micromagnetic calculations on finite as well as infinite square prisms. We have studied the magnetization reversal mechanisms taking place in these systems as a function of the prism width. We observe strong differences between reversal mechanisms in infinite prisms and nucleation/reversal processes in finite prisms. For infinite prisms buckling and curling are the modes that have been obtained in the whole width range studied. Substantial differences have been observed between magnetization reversal in finite prisms and inifinite prisms. While for small widths the magnetization reversal takes place following a buckling-like deformation strongly influenced by the extremities, for large widths, domain nucleation and wall propagation has been found to be the ad hoc reversal mechanism after a curling like nucleation. From stability arguments we have determined the critical domain (or activation volume) in low anisotropy systems. Both the switching fields and the activation volume obtained from simulations compare favorably with measurements on Ni electrodeposited nanowires.     

A method for measurement of "Creep" in thin magnetic films

The "creep" phenomenon in thin magnetic films is measured using a field consisting of a static field parallel to the film's easy axis, and a high-frequency sinusoidal field along the transverse axis. A special field-gradient coil is used to establish a two-domain magnetization configuration in the film plane, and the Kerr magneto-optic effect is employed to measure the position of the disturbed domain wall. Measurements on Ni-Fe-Co and NiFe alloy films show the typically sharp threshold field below which there is no wall creep; nonuniform creep gives evidence for wall "pinning" phenomena. With the method described for field calibration and the simple form of fields employed, this procedure should be valuable in establishing comparative creep sensitivity data for films formed from different alloys or by different technologies.     

High frequency dynamic imaging of domains in thin film heads

A wide-field magnetooptic domain observation system with a time resolution of 10 ns has been developed to study magnetization dynamics in thin-film heads. The instantaneous dynamic response on the top yoke of thin-film recording heads is examined at any chosen instant within the drive current cycle at frequencies up to 20 MHz. Different phase responses from different domain walls in the head are observed and interpreted in terms of hysteretic wall motion, effective field density variation in the head, and wall orientations relative to the flux conduction direction. Two different flux conduction mechanisms associated with two different domain structures in the central region of the head are observed and discussed. Flux conduction in the center of the head by motion of backgap walls and magnetization rotation for domain structures with and without the backgap walls was observed. The domain structure with the backgap walls is probably undesirable because the backgap wall motion may cause a decrease in head efficiency during high-frequency operation and could cause noise during read-back     

The Fe--B--Ge amorphous alloys

The crystallization behavior, the saturation magnetization, and the Curie temperatures of Fe-B-Ge amorphous alloy ribbons are reported and compared to previously reported results for Fe-B, Fe-B-C, Fe-B-Si, Fe-B-Si-C, and Fe-B-Ga.