Structural heterogeneity, β relaxation and magnetic properties of Fe-Zr-B amorphous alloys with Si and Cu additions

Despite numerous studies on B relaxation of amorphous alloys, the relationship between structural het-erogeneity and B relaxation and the effect on magnetic properties of Fe-based amorphous alloys is still unknow. In this work, the structure and magnetic properties of Fe84-xZr6B10Mx (M = Si, Cu; x = 0, 0.6, 1 at%) amorphous alloys were investigated. With the increase of Si content, the negative value of average chemical affinity ( increment Hchem) of the alloys is increased, leading to the synergetic enhancement in structural hetero-geneity and B relaxation. In addition to this, the increase of liquid-like regions (LLRs) reduces saturation magnetic flux density (Bs) and increases coercivity (Hc). However, the addition of Cu element decreases the negative value of increment Hchem of the alloys, resulting in weakening of structural heterogeneity and B relaxation synergetically. The reduction of LLRs has resulted in increase in Bs. Moreover, Fe-Cu atom pairs with positive enthalpy of mixing increases the local density of quasi dislocation dipoles (QDDs), resulting in the increase of Hc.& COPY; 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.