Spinodal decomposition in Fe–25Cr–12Co–1Si alloy under a 100 kOe magnetic field

Spinodal decomposition in Fe–25Cr–12Co–1Si alloy subjected to thermo-magnetic treatment under a 100 kOe magnetic field was investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Mössbauer spectrometry. The high magnetic field was found to accelerate spinodal decomposition in the early stage, but restrain the coarsening process, which led to the formation of very fine modulated structures with small aspect ratio for the ferromagnetic α1 phase. The abnormal deterioration of magnetic properties was mainly attributed to the decrease of shape anisotropy of ferromagnetic α1 phase for the step-aged Fe–25Cr–12Co–1Si alloy.