Effect of Nanocrystallization on Magnetic Properties and GMI Effect of Fe-rich Microwires

We studied the giant magnetoimpedance (GMI) effect and magnetic properties of Finemet-type FeCuNbSiB microwires. We observed that the GMI effect and magnetic softness of glass-coated microwires produced by the Taylor–Ulitovski technique can be tailored by controlling the magnetoelastic anisotropy of as-prepared FeCuNbSiB microwires, and can also be considerably improved either by heat treatment and/or choosing the suitable fabrication conditions. We observed a considerable magnetic softening of the microwires after the appropriate annealing. This magnetic softening correlates with the devitrification of amorphous samples. Amorphous Fe-rich microwires exhibited a low GMI effect (GMI ratio below 5%). A considerable enhancement of the GMI effect (GMI ratio up to 100%) has been observed in heat-treated microwires with nanocrystalline structure.