Crystallization and magnetic properties of (Co0.75Cr0.25)80Si5B15 metallic glass

(Co0.75Cr0.25)(80)Si5B15 amorphous alloy was thermally annealed to study the crystallization and magnetic properties. The amorphous alloy crystallized in two stages. The primary crystallization of hexagonal closed packed (Co, Cr) occurred in the initial stage and the rejection of non-magnetic Cr from the crystallized (Co, Cr) crystals was investigated by the temperature dependence of magnetization using a vibrating sample magnetometer. During the second stage, the precipitation of sigma-CoCr occurred instead of the eutectic crystallization of borides that is typically observed in most metal-boride glasses. The apparent activation energies for two crystallization stages were estimated to be 318 (+/-12) and 1690 (+/-123) kJ/mol, respectively. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.