Volume effects in Fe-rich Fe-Zr amorphous alloys

The parameter beta(x) in the temperature dependence of coercive field, H-c(x,T) = H-c(x,0)e(-beta(x)T) at low temperatures is found to have a linear-type dependence on Curie points T-c(x) in melt-spun Fe-rich FexZr1-x amorphous alloys. Using a cluster model, we show that beta(x) approximate to 6 Gamma(x)alpha(v), where alpha(v) is the 'volume expansion' coefficient and Gamma(x) is the 'magnetic' Gruneisen parameter. We estimate Gamma(x) similar to 65 and alpha(v) similar to 2.6 x 10(-4) K-1 for Fe-rich Fe-Zr amorphous alloys, and alpha(v) similar to 8 x 10(-5) K-1 for rare-earth (R)-Fe compounds. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.