Anisotropies in soft magnetic nanocrystalline alloys

The article reviews and updates the understanding of the soft magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Fe-based alloys. In optimized compositions the random magneto-crystalline anisotropy of the structural phases is largely averaged out. The soft magnetic properties are then controlled by magneto-elastic and induced anisotropies which are uniform on a scale much larger than the exchange length. But unlike to the case of soft magnetic amorphous alloys, there is still a competition between the random and the more uniform anisotropy contributions. The experimental findings are complemented by theoretical results.