Thermal and Magnetic Properties of Ternary Fe-B-C and Quaternary Fe-B-C-Si Alloys with High Glass-Forming Ability and High Magnetization

Abstract

The thermal and magnetic properties of the ternary Fe-B-C and quaternary Fe-B-C-Si amorphous alloys have been investigated. It has been discovered that the ternary Fe-B-C amorphous alloys with compositions close to Fe79.3B14.3C6.4 exhibit a glass transition prior to crystallization on heating. The alloys also have high mass magnetization of 176–178 A m2/kg at room temperature. In addition, the glass-forming ability (GFA) of the alloys is significantly enhanced by the addition of 4 at% Si while maintaining high magnetization of approximately 170 A m2/kg at room temperature. In was found that the Fe23(B, C)6 phase (Cr23C6-type) is formed during crystallization of the quaternary Fe-B-C-Si alloys with the large GFA. It was also confirmed that the amorphous powders of Fe-Cr-B-C-Si alloys could be produced by a conventional water atomization method and exhibit the low core losses of 305–362 kW/m3 at 100 kHz and 100 mT. The quaternary Fe-B-C-Si amorphous alloys with high GFA, high magnetization and low core losses are suitable for a core material of various magnetic components.