Comprehensive study of the crystallization behavior, thermal stability, and magnetic properties of Co66.5Si15.5B12Fe4Ni2 amorphous ribbon

Herein, the crystallization behavior, thermal stability, phase composition, and magnetic properties of Co66.5Si15.5B12Fe4Ni2 amorphous alloy were determined via differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction analysis, and vibrating sample magnetometry. The heating rate was found to strongly affect the glass-transition and crystallization behavior of Co66.5Si15.5B12Fe4Ni2 solidified ribbon. Based on the crystallization behavior, the relationship between the glass-transition temperature (Tg) and the heating rate (ln beta) was derived as Tg = 6ln beta + 709 and the glass-transition activation energy, initial crystallization activation energy, first crystallization peak activation energy, and the second crystallization peak activation energy were also calculated. Based on the results, the nucleation mechanism of the crystallization of Co66.5Si15.5B12Fe4Ni2 amorphous alloy and the crystallization products of the annealing crystallization process were discussed. The phase composition after shortterm annealing at a low temperature was found to be beta-Co + alpha-Co + Ni3Fe + Ni4B + Ni2Si. Following hightemperature, long-term annealing, Ni2Si disappeared completely and a new phase, FeSi, was formed. By studying the coercivity, remanence, saturation magnetization, and magnetic anisotropy of the alloy, we obtained the best processing parameters for comprehensive soft magnetic properties. The results provide guidance on the development of new soft magnetic materials.