XAS and XMCD studies of amorphous FeCo-based ribbons

This paper reports x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) studies at Fe L3,2 and Co L3,2-edges to investigate the electronic structure of (Fe100 − xCox)78Si9Nb3B9Cu1 (0 < x < 95) alloys. The influence of controlled Co addition on electronic structural and magnetic properties of (Fe100 − xCox)78Si9Nb3B9Cu1 (x = 0, 20, 40, and 60) alloys has been investigated and it has been observed that Co exists as Co2+/Co3+, while Fe exists as a mixture of Fe0 (metallic) and Fe2+. The XMCD studies confirm these results and reveal that Co-ions are responsible for the room temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM) in the system, while at Fe L3,2-edge it shows a diamagnetic behavior.

Research Highlights
► Electronic structure investigation of FeCo–based ribbons through x-ray absorption spectroscopy.
► systematic Co addition to the system changes the electronic structure.
► Co exists as Co2+/Co3+ in the system, while Fe exists as Fe0 and Fe2+.
► Element specific XMCD studies reveal that Co–ions are responsible for ferromagnetism, while Fe-ions shows a diamagnetic behavior.