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Free keywords:
Annealing; Copper alloys; Electron holography; High resolution transmission electron microscopy; Holography; Ion beams; Magnetic materials; Magnetism; Microstructure; Saturation magnetization; Silicon; Transmission electron microscopy, Fe-Si-B-Nb-Cu alloys; High-frequency applications; High-saturation magnetization; Lorentz microscopies; Lorentz transmission electron microscopy; Magnetic domain patterns; Magnetic microstructures; Off-axis electron holography, Magnetic domains
Abstract:
Fe-Si-B-Nb-Cu alloys are attractive for high frequency applications due to their low coercivity and high saturation magnetization. Here, we study the effect of stress annealing on magnetic microstructure in Fe73.5Si15.5B7Nb3Cu1 using off-axis electron holography and the Fresnel mode of Lorentz transmission electron microscopy. A stress of 50 MPa was applied to selected samples during rapid annealing for 4 s, resulting in uniaxial anisotropy perpendicular to the stress direction. The examination of focused ion beam milled lamellae prepared from each sample revealed a random magnetic domain pattern in the sample that had been rapidly annealed in the absence of stress, whereas a highly regular domain pattern was observed in the stress-annealed sample. We also measured a decrease in domain wall width from ∼ 94 nm in the sample annealed without stress to ∼ 80 nm in the stress-annealed sample. © 2016 Author(s).
