Magnetic texturing in ferromagnetic cobalt alloys

Solidification of Co-B near eutectic alloys occurs in the ferromagnetic state of the cobalt phase after a sufficient supercooling. In an external magnetic field, strong particle to particle interactions lead to a highly anisotropic microstructure. Annealing quenched samples in magnetic fields up to 16 T, and at high temperature below T-c, also modifies the shape of cobalt particles. In this later case, explanations based on demagnetizing energy or magnetic torque are contradictory with a non-saturation of the phenomenon in moderate magnetic fields. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.