In‐situ small‐angle scattering study on the formation of a nano­crystalline soft‐magnetic alloy

A detailed study is presented on the nanocrystallization of the amorphous alloy Fe86Zr7Cu 1B6 (indices indicate at. %). Melt-spun ribbons were rapidly annealed by Joule heating, and the electrical resistance showed strong variations during thermal treatment. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that these variations are related to the nucleation and growth of -Fe nanocrystals, and from peak profile analysis we obtained the average grain size and crystalline volume fraction for different annealing currents. The disorder-order transition was studied by in-situ small-angle X-ray scattering during conventional furnace treatments. SAXS intensity evolution for different temperatures, both below and above the crystallization temperature of the alloy, showed that a fast atomic rearrangement leads to the formation of atomic clusters before crystallization. The evolution of the size distribution function of these clusters as a function of time and temperature was obtained assuming a polydisperse system of spherical particles.