Clustering of Cu prior to the crystallization reaction in an Fe-Zr-B-Cu amorphous alloy

Abstract

While nanocrystalline structure evolves in Fe-Zr-B ternary alloys by primary crystallization, it was reported that a small addition of Cu reduced the crystallization temperature slightly and made the grain size much smaller. Similar effect of Cu was reported in Fe-Si-B-Nb-Cu alloys, but in this case, addition of Cu was essential to obtain a nanocrystalline structure. Previous atom probe works revealed that Cu atoms form clusters prior to the crystallization reaction. Similar effect is expected in the Fe-Zr-B-Cu system but this remains unconfirmed. The aim of this study was to examine the behavior of Cu in Fe-Zr-B-Cu amorphous alloy in the early stage of primary crystallization and to understand the effect of Cu on the crystallization of Fe-Zr-B based amorphous alloys.