Electric-field-enhanced crystallization of amorphous Fe86Zr7B6Cu1 alloy

The effect of external electric field on the crystallization of amorphous Fe86Zr7B6Cu1 alloy was studied. It is shown that its crystallization process is markedly enhanced by external electric field. The crystallization time at 600 °C decreases from 1 to 0.5 h on application of a modest (104 V/m) external electric field. The volume fraction of crystalline α-Fe increases from 65.2 to 68.6%, while the grain size decreases from 13.2 to 11.9 nm. The electric-field-enhanced crystallization may result from the fact that the external electric field results in the increases of the crystal nucleation rate and the crystal growth rate. The complex permeability shows an apparent improvement in soft magnetic properties induced by electric field, thereby demonstrating the practical utility of electric-field-enhanced crystallization technique.