Structure and anelasticity of Fe3Ge alloy

The structure and anelastic properties of Fe-27 at.%Ge alloy are studied. Long-term annealing of the as-cast alloy at 1273 K leads to homogenising and several transformations take place below 873 K. These low temperature transitions are studied by several methods: X-ray diffraction, calorimetry, vibrating-sample magnetometry and internal friction, and are related to magnetic transitions in the different phases. A high stability of the hexagonal ɛ (D019) phase at room temperature is recorded. The hexagonal β (B81) phase is also detected in the alloy at room temperature, while the presence of the ɛ′ and α phases is doubtful. A broad internal friction relaxation peak with the relaxation strength of Δ = 0.0036, the activation energy of about 1.78 eV and the preexponential relaxation time of τ0 = 2 × 10−17 s was discovered and classified as the Zener peak in both the ɛ and β phases.