Effect of chemically active medium on frequency dependence of magnetic losses in soft magnetic Fe-based amorphous alloys

The effects of the electrolytic hydrogenation and oxidation and of the interaction of the surface ribbon with water and vapor on the frequency dependence of magnetic losses per magnetization-reversal cycle are studied based on the example of soft magnetic Fe81B13Si4C2 amorphous alloy, which exhibits a positive saturation magnetostriction. It was shown that, after the hydrogenation and oxidation of soft magnetic amorphous alloys, their frequency dependences of magnetic losses per magnetization-reversal cycle, which are reduced to unit induction, exhibit groups of hydrogen- and oxygen-related peaks in the frequency ranges of 35–55 and 55–80 Hz, which can be explained by the formation of O-A and H-A atomic pairs (where A are atoms of alloy components) and their reorientation in a magnetic field in the course of magnetization reversal at certain frequencies. The formation of analogous groups of peaks for samples of soft magnetic Fe-based amorphous alloys was observed after the interaction of the ribbon surface with water and vapor and after heat treatment in air. This fact confirms the possibility of the hydrogenation and oxidation of the alloys during the aforementioned processes.