Background

Fe₈₀B₂₀ amorphous alloys exhibit excellent soft magnetic properties, high abrasive resistance and outstanding corrosion resistance. In this work, Fe₈₀B₂₀ amorphous micro-fibers with H_C of 3.33 Oe were firstly fabricated and the effects of annealing temperature on the structure and magnetic properties of the fibers were investigated.

Methods

In this study, Fe₈₀B₂₀ amorphous fibers were prepared by the single roller melt-spinning method. The structures of as-spun and annealed fibers were investigated by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) (PANalytical X,Pert Power) using Cu Kα radiation. The morphology of the fibers was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (HITACHI-S4800). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements of the fibers were performed on Mettler Toledo TGA/DSC1 device under N₂ protection. Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM, Versalab) was used to examine the magnetic properties of the fibers. The resonance behavior of the fibers was characterized by an impedance analyzer (Agilent 4294A) with a home-made copper coil.

Results

The X-ray diffusion (XRD) patterns show that the fibers remain amorphous structure until the annealing temperature reaches 500°C. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results show that the crystallization temperature of the fibers is 449°C. The crystallization activation energy is calculated to be 221 kJ/mol using Kissinger formula. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show that a few dendrites appear at the fiber surface after annealing. The result indicates that the coercivity H_C (//) and H_C (⊥) slightly increases with increasing annealing temperature until 400°C, and then dramatically increases with further increasing annealing temperature which is due to significant increase in magneto-crystalline anisotropy and magneto-elastic anisotropy. The Q value firstly increases slightly when the annealing temperature rises from room temperature (RT) to 300°C, then decreases until 400°C. Eventually, the value of Q increases to ∼2000 at annealing temperature of 500°C.

Conclusions

In this study, Fe₈₀B₂₀ amorphous fibers with the diameter of 60 μm were prepared by the single roller melt-spinning method and annealed at 200°C, 300°C, 400°C, and 500°C, respectively. XRD results indicate that the fiber structure remains amorphous when the annealing temperature is below 400°C. α-Fe phase and Fe₃B phase appear when the annealing temperature rises to 500°C, which is above the crystallization temperature of 449°C. The recrystallization activation energy is calculated to be 221 kJ/mol. The coercivity increases with increasing annealing temperature, which attributes to the increase of total anisotropy. All the as-spun and annealed fibers exhibit good resonance behavior for magnetostrictive sensors.