Influence of Cu and Nb on the nanocrystallization and magnetic properties of amorphous alloys based on iron

A procedure of thermal heating of amorphous metallic alloys (AMA) is extensively used to obtain nanocrystals. In this case, the information about structural changes in the process of growth of nanocrystals is very important, especially for a group of Fe-based AMA for which soft magnetic properties can be improved by applying a well-defined procedure of thermal annealing. This improvement is usually explained by the formation of a nanocrystalline phase in the amorphous matrix or by changing the effective magnetostriction constants [1, 2]. On the other hand, it is also of importance to study the influence of dopants on the kinetics of crystallization. Copper and niobium are the most effective of them [3-5]. The structural changes caused by the addition of these metals promote the changes in the main physicochemical properties and, in particular, in the magnetic properties [6, 7].