Early stages of mechanical crystallization of amorphous FeZrBCu soft magnetic material

Nanocrystalline Fe-base soft magnetic materials with high saturation magnetization have been obtained by crystallization of FeZrBCu amorphous precursors. In contrast to the conventional thermal crystallization, mechanical crystallization provides an alternative route for the generation of nanocrystalline materials using a high energy ball mill. Special emphasis is put here on the early stages of the transformation. X-ray diffraction, Mossbauer spectroscopy, and magnetization measurements are used to characterize the material. We find a continuous increase of the saturation magnetization accompanied by an increase of the crystalline fraction. The coercivity shows a different behavior with a large increase after very short milling within the amorphous state and a decrease for long milling duration. The influence of the deformation process on the magnetic anisotropy and the coercivity is discussed in terms of stresses and shear band formation. The results are compared with the phase formation and magnetic properties of thermally crystallized FeZrBCu samples and mechanical crystallization studies of other materials. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)04505-9].