Structural origin of magnetic softening in a Fe-based amorphous alloy upon annealing

The underlying structural origin of magnetic properties is still elusive in Fe-based amorphous alloys. In this study, distinctive soft magnetic properties were developed in Fe76Si9B10P5 amorphous ribbons through systematic design of annealing process. Combining with synchrotron radiation, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and first principle ab initio molecular dynamic simulation, it is found that the atomic structural evolution both in short range order and medium range order is responsible for the magnetic softness at proper annealing temperature. In short range, formation of separated and densely coordinated Fe-metalloid clusters is instigated to adapt energy minimization, resulting in strengthening of ferromagnetic exchange interaction locally. In medium range, a homogeneous exchangecoupling from the uniformly strong and weak ferromagnetic regions is generated, which significantly weakens magnetic heterogeneity and leads to the excellent magnetic softness. Our findings may provide an effective/promising pathway to modulate the magnetic properties for Fe-based amorphous alloys, and give a comprehensive and quantitative understanding of the structure-properties relationship in amorphous materials. (C) 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.