Crystallization behavior of the cobalt based metallic glass Co65Si15B14Fe4Ni2

The cobalt based metallic glass Co65Si15B14Fe4Ni2 has good soft magnetic properties. Its crystallization behavior has been investigated by electrical resistivity, DSC, XRD and TEM. At elevated temperatures, the resistivity is observed to drop at 540, 630 and 750degreesC. The first two resistivity drops are consistent with crystallization peaks obtained from DSC experiments. The phases formed are found to be alpha-Co, epsilon-Co, Co2Si, Co3B2 in the first crystallization event and Co2B, Co4B in the second crystallization event. Supported by the isothermal resistivity results, the crystallization process as observed by TEM is: flower-shaped precipitates forming in the amorphous matrix, sequential nucleation and growth, precipitation inside the grains and at grain boundaries. From electrical resistivity measurement, Curie temperature is found to be 220degreesC, and the temperature coefficients of resistivity are calculated to be: 1.12 x 10(-4) K-1 in the temperature range 30-220degreesC and 0.97 x 10(-4) K-1 in the range 220-500degreesC of metallic glass Co65Si15B14Fe4Ni2. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.