The influence of nitrogen on the structural and magnetic properties of nanocrystallized Finemet-type ribbons

Nitriding thermochemical treatment under suitable parameters, used to nanocrystallize Fe-Cu-Nb-Si-B ribbons, leads to finer grain size and modifies the structural parameters of the alpha-Fe(Si) phase: low Si content, probably due to the formation of Si-N precipitates on a very fine scale. Furthermore, both the specific magnetization ol the alloy and the Curie temperature of the crystalline phase increase upon nitrogenation and the magnetostriction decreases in relation with the higher crystalline volume fraction. It is shown that nitrogenation offers a new method to obtain nanostructured materials. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.