The effect of mechanical milling on the soft magnetic properties of amorphous FINEMET alloy

The effect of milling time on the magnetic properties of FINEMET amorphous ribbons has been investigated using X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, thermo-magnetic measurements, transmission electron microscopy and SQUID magnetometery. Ribbons were melt-spun at a wheel speed of 38 ms-1 and then mechanically milled for different periods up to 45 min. The results showed that the partially crystallization of the amorphous powder occurs during milling. TEM observations confirmed the formation of small volume fraction of the crystalline phase with ~9 nm crystallite size in the amorphous matrix for the ribbon milled for 45 min. Thermo-magnetic measurements indicated the enhancement of the Curie temperature of amorphous phase during milling which is due to the annihilation of free volumes and microstructural ordering. The Hopkinson effect led to the monotonic increase of magnetization with respect to the temperature before reaching the Curie temperature of the milled samples. Moreover; the magnetization increased with the formation of the Fe(Si) phase while the coercivity decreased. Mössbauer spectroscopy and thermo-magnetic measurements revealed the existence of 13% Fe in crystalline phase. The composition of crystalline phase was determined as Fe-16.5Si. Hyperfine field values increased with milling time, suggesting the ordering of the structure and enhancement of the number of Fe-Fe atomic pairs in the crystalline phase comparing to the primary amorphous ribbon.