O. A. Ivanov

Interaction of surface of ribbons of amorphous soft-magnetic iron-based alloys with vapor

The interaction with water vapor of the surface of ribbons of amorphous soft-magnetic iron-based alloys with positive saturation magnetostriction and an effect of the interaction on the magnetization distribution and magnetic properties have been investigated. The results of the investigation showed that, during in-air heat treatment, the interaction of the surface of ribbons of amorphous soft-magnetic alloys with water vapor upon the heating of samples and at the initial stage of isothermal holding exerts a substantial effect on the magnetization distribution and the level of magnetic properties formed. Preliminary room-temperature treatment of the ribbon surface in the as-quenched state with water vapor favors an increase in pseudo-uniaxial tensile stresses along the ribbon axis because, during annealing, the enhanced concentration of hydrogen and oxygen atoms introduced into the ribbon surface is formed in this direction. When certain regimes of heat treatment are used, this leads to an increase in the volume of domains with magnetization oriented along the axis of the ribbon in its plane and allows a significant enhancement in the efficiency of the in-air heat treatment.

Mechanisms of the formation of magnetic characteristics of a cobalt-based amorphous magnetically soft alloy under heat treatment in air

Physical causes of the formation of magnetic characteristics of cobalt-based alloys with a near to zero saturation magnetostriction under heat treatment in air have been studied using the Co–Fe–Ni–Cr–Si–B amorphous magnetically soft alloy as an example. The results of the study have shown the possibility of using the vapor treatment of surfaces of ribbons made of amorphous magnetically soft alloys to determine the sign of magnetostriction. The dependence of the sign of magnetostriction on the structural state of a ribbon, which is produced by the heat treatment, has been experimentally found. It has been established that physical causes of the formation of magnetic characteristics of the cobalt-based alloys are the same as those for iron-based alloys. Changes in the magnetic characteristics after annealing result from the relaxation of quenchinginduced internal stresses, as well as from the effect of stresses induced by hydrogen and oxygen atoms incorporated into the surface of the ribbon in the course of its interaction with water vapor in air and by the formation of an amorphous-crystalline surface layer.

Interaction of the surfaces of ribbons of amorphous magnetically soft alloys with vapor at various stages of heat treatment

The effect of heat treatment in air atmosphere combined with water vapor on the distribution of magnetization and on magnetic characteristics has been studied based on the example of a rapidly quenched amorphous magnetically soft Fe77Ni1Si9B13 alloy, which possesses a positive saturation magnetostriction. The interaction of the surface of a ribbon made of the alloy with vapor was implemented at various stages of heat treatment, such as heating, cooling, and isothermal holding. The results of the study have confirmed an important contribution of the stresses induced by hydrogen and oxygen atoms, which are incorporated into the surface of the ribbon, to the formation of the magnetic characteristics of the alloy. The heat treatment of the surface of the ribbon with vapor at various stages together with varying rate of cooling substantially enhance the maximum magnetic permeability at an optimum duration of isothermal holding. This is primarily due to a decrease in the relative volume of orthogonal-magnetization domains because of an additional rise in predominantly plane tensile stresses induced by hydrogen and oxygen atoms which are incorporated into the surface of the ribbon.

Effect of parameters of heat treatment on magnetic properties and magnetization distribution in ribbons of amorphous soft magnetic iron-based alloys

The effect of the isothermal-holding temperature and cooling rate upon in-air heat treatment on the magnetic properties and magnetization distribution in ribbons of amorphous soft magnetic iron-based alloys with positive saturation magnetostriction has been investigated. The results of the investigation showed that the dependence of the maximum magnetic permeability on the isothermal-holding temperature correlates with the corresponding changes in the magnetization distribution in the ribbon and is determined by diffusion processes that occur upon in-air heat treatment at a specific isothermal-holding temperature. An increase in the cooling rate leads to an ambiguous effect on the level of magnetic properties. The increase favors an improvement in magnetic properties when, after in-air heat treatment, either a predominantly amorphous state of the surface or a state with the formed amorphous-crystalline surface layer with a nearly optimal thickness is obtained.

Effect of heat treatment in air and a chemically active environment on the magnetic properties of cobalt-based soft magnetic amorphous alloys

The influence of heat treatment in air on the level of magnetic properties has been studied on the example of a ribbon of an amorphous cobalt-based (Co–Fe–Ni–Cr–Si–B) soft-magnetic alloy with a nearzero saturation magnetostriction. The investigation of the interaction of the ribbon surface with water and water vapor and its influence on the magnetization distribution showed the possibility of applying surface treatment to determine the sign of saturation magnetostriction. The sign of saturation magnetostriction in the initial (quenched) state confirmed the presence of a negative magnetostriction in the ribbon. Based on the results obtained, the dependence of the sign of saturation magnetostriction on the structural state that is obtained upon heat treatment has been revealed.

Magnetization distribution in a soft magnetic amorphous alloy ribbon in as-quenched state and efficiency of heat treatment

The effect of heat treatment in air on the formation of magnetic properties has been studied based on the example of soft magnetic Fe77Ni1Si9B13 and Fe81B13Si4C2 amorphous ribbons characterized by positive magneto-striction. The magnetization distribution in the ribbons in the as-quenched state was shown to affect the efficiency of annealing. Under certain conditions, heat treatment, which results in the formation of mainly amorphous state of ribbon surface, is more efficient for samples characterized by high volume of orthogonally magnetized domains. This can be related to high in-plane tensile stresses, which are induced by hydrogen and oxygen atoms introduced into the ribbon surface upon its interaction with atmospheric water vapor.

Interaction of the surface of ribbons of amorphous soft-magnetic alloys with vapor during isothermal holding upon heat treatment

The effect of in-air heat treatment in combination with water vapor on the magnetization distribution and magnetic properties has been investigated based on the example of ribbons of amorphous soft-magnetic alloys Fe77Ni1Si9B13 and Fe81B13Si4C2 with positive magnetostriction. The results of the investigation showed the temperature lag of the dependence of the maximum magnetic permeability and of relative volume of domains with orthogonal magnetization on the isothermal-holding temperature. This effect can be associated with the inhibition of processes of surface crystallization by hydrogen and oxygen atoms introduced into the ribbon surface. Distinctive features of the heat treatment with and without vapor on the magnetization distribution in the ribbon plane that are explained within the theory of directed ordering with allowance for the processes of crystallization at the cooling stage have been found. This demonstrates the importance of the contribution of diffusion processes at this stage of treatment to the formation of the level of magnetic properties. It has been shown that the interaction of the ribbon surface with water vapor is not physical adsorption. Interaction with atmospheric gases is carried out by dispersion forces and exerts an influence on the magnetization distribution in the ribbon plane and maximum magnetic permeability.

Magnetization Processes in Ribbons of Soft Magnetic Amorphous Alloys

Using iron-based (Fe–B–Si–C; Fe–Ni–Si–B) and cobalt-based (Co–Fe–Ni–Cr–Mn–Si–B) soft magnetic alloys as examples, we have studied the dependences of the remanence measured using minor hysteresis loops on the maximum induction. The different degrees of stabilization of the 180° and 90° domain walls allows these dependences to be used to analyze the magnetization processes that occur in the rapidly quenched soft magnetic alloys. It has been established from the Br(Bm) dependences that, in the ribbons of soft magnetic amorphous alloys, the processes of the rotation of the magnetization oriented perpendicular to the ribbon plane start before the end of the processes of the displacement of the walls of domains with planar magnetization. After the end of the magnetization rotation processes, the magnetization processes can be interpreted as the displacement of the domain walls with a planar magnetization accompanied by a decrease in their number and a transition to a bistable state.

Influence of a Polymer Coating and the Compacting Pressure on the Magnetic Properties of Cobalt-Based Amorphous Alloys

The influence of a polymer coating applied in the manufacture of magnetic shields on magnetic properties has been studied based on the example of ribbons of a cobalt-based soft magnetic alloy (Co-Fe-Ni-Cr-Mn-Si-B) with the saturation magnetostriction close to zero. The influence of polymer coating has been separated from the effect of the compacting pressure applied upon its formation. The polymer coating was formed on the ribbon in the states with different signs of the saturation magnetostriction. It has been shown that the compacting pressure and the polymer coating have opposite effects on the properties of the ribbon and that these impacts partly level off upon the formation of the coating. The degree of the influence of the polymer coating on the magnetic properties depends on the state of the ribbon and on the sign of the saturation magnetostriction in this state.

Effect of chemically active medium on frequency dependence of magnetic losses in soft magnetic Fe-based amorphous alloys

The effects of the electrolytic hydrogenation and oxidation and of the interaction of the surface ribbon with water and vapor on the frequency dependence of magnetic losses per magnetization-reversal cycle are studied based on the example of soft magnetic Fe81B13Si4C2 amorphous alloy, which exhibits a positive saturation magnetostriction. It was shown that, after the hydrogenation and oxidation of soft magnetic amorphous alloys, their frequency dependences of magnetic losses per magnetization-reversal cycle, which are reduced to unit induction, exhibit groups of hydrogen- and oxygen-related peaks in the frequency ranges of 35–55 and 55–80 Hz, which can be explained by the formation of O-A and H-A atomic pairs (where A are atoms of alloy components) and their reorientation in a magnetic field in the course of magnetization reversal at certain frequencies. The formation of analogous groups of peaks for samples of soft magnetic Fe-based amorphous alloys was observed after the interaction of the ribbon surface with water and vapor and after heat treatment in air. This fact confirms the possibility of the hydrogenation and oxidation of the alloys during the aforementioned processes.