Crystallization behaviours around the glass transition temperature in an amorphous Fe–Nb–B alloy

Crystallization behaviours around the glass transition temperature in an amorphous Fe70Nb10B20 alloy were investigated by means of transmission electron microscopy. Dense bcc-Fe nanocrystals initially appeared as the primary phase, followed by the dense formation of the (Fe,Nb)23B6 nanocrystalline phase. The bcc-Fe nanocrystals were formed even by annealing at a temperature that is 38 K lower than the glass transition temperature. A difference of the low temperature behaviours between the present conventional amorphous alloy and a bulk metallic glass was discussed.