Temperature dependence of amorphous and interface phases in the Fe80Nb7Cu1B12 nanocrystalline alloy

Temperature measurements (77–625 K) of Fe80Nb7Cu1B12 nanocrystalline alloy prepared from amorphous precursor annealed for 1 h at 470°C and 620°C are presented. Structural and magnetic behaviours of the crystalline phase, the amorphous residual matrix, and the interface zone between crystalline grains and the amorphous phase are studied by distributions of hyperfine magnetic fields. Magnetic regions are developing in the retained amorphous phase with rising temperature of annealing. They can be suppressed, however, at high enough measuring temperatures turning the amorphous matrix into paramagnetic state. As a consequence, the respective spectral components do not interfere so much and the role of interface zone can be studied.