Magnetic viscosity in Nd60Fe30Al10 amorphous alloys

Ferromagnetic amorphous Nd60Fe30Al10 alloys melt spun at wheel speeds between 5 and 20m/s exhibit hard magnetic properties, which are found to be very sensitive to the cooling conditions. The magnetization reversion mechanisms leading to the rather high coercive forces found are investigated by thermally activated magnetic relaxation experiments; the mean fluctuation field and the activation volume are measured-in specimens cooled at different rates-at the critical field for extensive magnetization reversion. These preliminary results show a qualitative agreement with the predictions of a ferromagnetic cluster model. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.