Influence of production method on the magnetic parameters and structure of Fe61Co10Y8Nb1B20 amorphous alloys in the as-quenched state

In this paper, the influence of production method on the basic magnetic properties and structure of amorphous alloys, in the forms of ribbons and plates, was investigated. The samples used in the investigations were obtained by three different production methods: ultrafast cooling of the liquid alloy on a rotating copper wheel (the melt-spinning method), and the injection or suction of the molten alloy into a water-cooled copper die injection- and suction-casting, respectively. The structure of the resulting samples of Fe61Co10Y8Nb1B20 alloy was investigated by means of X-ray diffractometry, Mössbauer spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results of the microstructural investigations confirmed that the obtained samples were amorphous and without crystalline precipitations. The images from the scanning electron microscope were typical for amorphous materials. Magnetic measurements were performed using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) using magnetic fields of up to 2 T. The highest value of the saturation magnetization was achieved for the sample which was in the form of a ribbon. The values of this parameter for the samples which were in the form of plates were similar to each other, regardless of the production method. The values of the coercivity showed much greater differences, depending on the production method. The smallest value of coercivity was found for the sample in plate-form obtained by injection-casting; this is connected with the highest value of structural relaxation in the investigated material.