Structure and magnetic properties of Nb-doped FeZrB soft magnetic alloys

Structure and magnetic properties of Nb-doped (FeZrB) 100-xNbx alloy are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry and vibrating sample magnetometer. The fully amorphous structure of the as-quenched ribbons is confirmed by the XRD pattern. With increasing Nb, the glass transition temperature and the onset crystallization temperature are increased, indicating increased stability of the amorphous structure. For x=1, the saturation magnetization of the ribbons is 125.7 emu/g and the optimized annealing temperature increases from 550 to 630 °C. The morphology of the crystallized phases is observed by scanning electron microscopy. The results show that nanocrystalline α-Fe grains are dispersed in the amorphous matrix.