Amorphous Ribbons Research Articles

The Use of Polyimide as a Bonding Material to Improve the Mechanical Stability, Magnetic and Acoustic Properties of the Transformer Core Based on Amorphous Steel.

The constantly evolving electrification also entails an increase in requirements for the effective and efficient distribution of electricity with the lowest possible power losses. Such needs can be met by highly effective electrical devices, and one of them is a transformer whose main component is a magnetic core. Currently, one of the soft magnetic materials used alternatively for the production of transformer cores are amorphous metal strips with competitive losses. However, to successfully use these materials, a key problem must be solved: limited mechanical stability. The presented article describes the development and application of a polyimide-based binder for efficient bonding of an amorphous metal ribbon. The layered binder was characterized using confocal microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, and its anticorrosion and mechanical properties were examined. As a final step, a prototype of a toroidal magnetic core bonded with the binder was manufactured and subjected to the evaluation of no-load loss and the analysis of the emitted noise. It was confirmed that the proposed polyimide binder tremendously improved the mechanical stability while reducing core losses and audible noise.

A novel Fe87Pr11B2 amorphous alloy with outstanding magnetocaloric properties near 325 K

A novel Fe87Pr11B2 metallic glass that exhibits outstanding magnetocaloric effect near room temperature was prepared into the shape of amorphous ribbons. The ribbon exhibits soft magnetic properties and high saturation magnetization at 200 K, which is much lower than its Curie temperature at 325 K. No obvious spin-glass-like behavior was found above 200 K. The almost highest maximum magnetic entropy change (−ΔSmpeak) among Fe-based metallic glasses near the hot end of a residential magnetic refrigerator is most likely attributed to the high concentration of Pr and low content of B in the Fe87Pr11B2 amorphous ribbon. The high −ΔSmpeak, large refrigeration capacity (RC) and adiabatic temperature rise (ΔTad) make the Fe87Pr11B2 amorphous alloy better candidate for the potential component of a refrigerant working in a high-efficiency residential magnetic refrigerator.

Amorphous alloy-based heater combining high electrothermal and mechanical performance

Electrothermal devices have been widely used for many years. However, their applications still mainly rely on wires made of heavy metal alloys which suffer from many disadvantages. Meanwhile, the recently discovered electrothermal materials based on carbon nanostructures are restricted by the expensive large-scale production. Here, we fabricate Fe57.2Ni18B13Si8.5P0.8Cr2.4Cu0.1 amorphous ribbons with good electrothermal and mechanical properties, which can offer overall advantages over prevailing electrothermal materials. The ribbons combine high resistivity of ∼160 μΩ·cm, high strength over 2 GPa and good thermal stability (Tg=730 K). The ribbons can uniformly reach steady-state temperature up to 160°C within 100 seconds at a driving voltage of 10 V, and the produced infrared radiations are friendly to human bodies. Furthermore, the ribbons exhibit excellent flexibility and mechanical stability, where their electrothermal performance can maintain during bending, twisting and even after hundreds of cycles of deformations. Besides these advantages, amorphous ribbon can be industrially produced at a lower cost, making it possible to be used in broaden fields.

Amorphous ribbons for GMI detection of stray fields FeOx magnetic filler of epoxicomposites

Magnetoimpedance (MI) effect in stress-annealed Co-based amorphous ribbon was studied in the states without and in presence of the magnetic epoxy composite of cylindrical shape. Iron oxide FeOx magnetic microparticles of different concentrations (0–70 wt.%) were used as a magnetic filler. The condition of stress annealing (350 °C, 1 h and 250 MPa specific load) were selected in order to insure the high MI sensitivity with respect to external magnetic field in the field of a few Oersted. The MI responses were modified in the presence of the magnetic epoxy composites due to the contribution of the stray fields of embedded microparticles. It was experimentally found that degree of the MI curves modification depended on the microparticles concentration. The MI characteristics were also dependent on the length-to-width ratio of the MI element. The most sensitive MI element under study showed a linear dependence with a 1 %/weightpercent microparticle concentration slope. Mathematical modeling using finite elements (FEM) protocol for the properties of short MI elements confirmed the results and highlighted the non-monotonic contribution of high-concentration composites to the MI responses.

Milling amorphous FeSiB ribbons with vibratory ball and disc mills

Fe, Si and B powders, mixed with atomic composition Fe78Si9B13, are subjected after arc melting to a melt spinning process, which is optimized to obtain the greatest amount of amorphous ribbon. The amorphous ribbons are milled to powder form in a vibratory ball mill and a vibratory disc mill, taking care of maintaining the amorphous character. Ribbons and powders have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), laser diffraction, SEM and TEM microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The amorphous character and particle size of the powders are characterized as a function of the mill charge and the milling time. It is shown that the use of the ball mill is appropriate for obtaining small quantities of amorphous or nanocrystalline powder, while the disc mill can process larger quantities of powder in a shorter time. The particle sizes obtained for milling times between 10 and 150 min range between 26 and 412 μm, ready for use in powder metallurgy processes.

Influence of Pulsed Interference Laser Heating on Crystallisation of Amorphous Fe77Cu1Si13B9 Ribbons.

Amorphous Fe77Cu1Si13B9 ribbons were treated with pulsed laser interference heating (PLIH). The research results will significantly contribute to a better understanding of the impact of PLIH on crystallisation and magnetic properties in precisely defined micro-areas of Fe77Cu1Si13B9 (FeCuSiB) ribbons, which has not yet been described in the literature. It was confirmed here that the use of the laser heating process allowed for the achievement of two-dimensional crystallised micro-areas, periodically distributed (at a distance of 17 µm) on the surface of the amorphous ribbons. The correlation between structural changes (SEM, TEM, HRTEM) and the distribution of magnetic field lines of heated amorphous Fe77Cu1Si13B9 ribbons is presented. Particular attention is paid to structural changes in micro-areas where, by controlling the laser interference heating process, the partial crystallisation of amorphous alloys and the formation of clusters or single nanocrystallites (α-Fe(Si)) embedded in an amorphous matrix occur. The addition of copper to the FeSiB alloy promoted the inhibition of grain growth. Electron holography of micro-areas confirmed shifts in the magnetic field lines in the areas of nanocrystallites, the presence of which in the structure caused the magnetisation of the surrounding amorphous matrix.

STUDY ON MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF FeCoPSiBCu AMORPHOUS ALLOY BY EMPIRICAL ELECTRON THEORY

In this study, a new evaluation method was investigated for the magnetic properties of the amorphous alloys by comparing the experimental results with the theoretical calculations. First, The (Fe[Formula: see text]Co6P[Formula: see text]Si[Formula: see text]B[Formula: see text])[Formula: see text]Cux ([Formula: see text]–0.5) amorphous ribbons were prepared by melt spinning method. Then, the magnetic properties of the prepared amorphous alloys were measured as 165.86–147.04[Formula: see text]emu/g, respectively. On the other side, we analyzed the valence electron structure and obtained the magnetizations as 159.92–158.77[Formula: see text]emu/g by calculating the magnetic moments of unit cells based on empirical electron theory (EET) of solids and molecules. Through comparing the magnetic properties of the calculations with the measurements, we found that the differences between the calculations and the measurements are less than 12% for all samples, meeting the first approximation requirement. Moreover, with the addition of Cu, the change trends both in the calculated and measured magnetic properties are also consistent. These results prove that it is feasible to calculate the magnetic property of the amorphous alloy from the valence electron level using EET, which provides a new method to investigate the soft magnetic property of the amorphous alloy instead of the real measurement.

Glass formation, crystallization behavior, nanoprecipitate phase, and magnetic properties of Mn-Fe-Si-B-EM (EM = Zr, Nb, V) alloys

In this paper, the as-quenched Mn55Fe15Si20B7EM3 (EM = Zr, Nb, V) amorphous ribbons were produced by the melt spinning technique. The crystallization behavior, nanoprecipitate phase evolution, and magnetic properties of the Mn-Fe-Si-B-EM (EM = Zr, Nb, V) amorphous alloys were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and the quantum design dynacool-9 physical property measurement system (PPMS). The Mn55Fe15Si20B7EM3 (EM = Zr, Nb, V) amorphous alloys show two-stage crystallization behavior. In the first stage, the primary crystallization results in the formation of α-Mn + Mn6Si/Mn3Si precipitates, while in the second stage, the secondary crystallization leads to the formation of the Mn2B phase. The Mn55Fe15Si20B7Zr3 (FZ) amorphous sample shows a most significant two-stage phase transformation, which the onset temperature of the primary and that of the secondary crystallization are 625.7 °C and 681.2 °C, respectively. The FZ amorphous sample undergoes a magnetic phase transformation from the spin glass (SG) state to a paramagnetic (PM) state at approximately 28 K. As the temperature increases, the magnetic phase transition can be expressed as: SG → PM. The annealed FZ nanocrystalline sample with α-Mn + Mn6Si nano phases enters the ferromagnetic (FM) state at 27∼70 K after undergoing spin glass transformation, and the magnetic phase transition is: SG → FM → PM. The annealed Mn55Fe15Si20B7V3 nanocrystalline sample containing nano α-Mn and Mn3Si phases shows two Curie transitions at 57 K and 130 K, respectively. The magnetic phase transition behavior can be expressed as: SG → FMΙ → FMΙΙ → PM.

Effect of Nb doping on the magnetic properties and its fluxgate behavior of CoFeNbSiB amorphous ribbons

Co-based amorphous alloys are often utilized as magnetic core for fluxgate sensor due to their excellent comprehensive performance with eminent permeability and insignificant coercivity. Herein, we investigated the effects of Nb doping on the phase composition, amorphous formation, magnetic domain structure and soft-magnetic characteristics of (Co0.7Fe0.5Si0.15B0.1)100-xNbx (x = 0, 1, 3, 5, 7) alloy ribbons and its fluxgate performance. Additionally, related magnetic parameters as magnetic permeability μi and coercivity Hc of the ribbon under zero magnetic-field annealing (ZFA) as well as longitudinal magnetic-field annealing (LFA) and fluxgate sensitivity and noise value were also tested. It is verified that the Nb doping is well able to optimize their amorphization, thermostability and soft magnetic properties. When x = 3, the ribbon presents the most well-distributed magnetic domain structure and the inferior soft magnetic properties, with an initial permeability μi of 8900 and a coercivity Hc of 1.51 A/m. Compared with ZFA, LFA is more effective on improving the soft magnetic and fluxgate behavior. The highest μi of 24,520 and the lowest Hc of 0.18 A/m are obtained at x = 3 for the LFA sample, where the fluxgate sensitivity is up to 44.15 mV/μT, accompanied by the peak-to-peak noise (denoted by Noisep-p) value is as low as 1.38 nT.

A multidimensional integrated micro three-component fluxgate sensor based on microelectromechanical system technology

In this paper, a miniature three-component fluxgate sensor with U-shaped structure is fabricated by the multidimensional integration technology. We manufacture a batch of single axis solenoid fluxgate chips based on Micro Electromechanical System （MEMS） technology, which possesses the Co-based amorphous ribbon core and solenoid excitation-detection coil. According to multidimensional integration theory, a full integrated three-component fluxgate sensors is achieved through orthogonal linking of printed circuit board （PCB） substrates and bonding between single axis fluxgate chip and substrate. The chips used in the X-Y-Z axis have a sensitivity of 1947 V/T, 1951 V/T, and 1949 V/T, and noise power spectral density of 0.061 nT√Hz@1HZ, 0.077 nT√Hz@1HZ, and 0.087 nT√Hz@1HZ, and time-drift peaks of 21 nT, 17.4 nT, and 14.8 nT, respectively. The linear range of three chips is 0–70μT. After least square error correction, the peak-to-peak value of the in-situ total magnetic field decreases from 2.4 μT to 0.22 μT.

Effect of 0.5 at. % Cu addition on the crystallization behavior and soft magnetic properties of Fe83B11C1Si2P3 alloy

In order to gain insight into how the addition of Cu element affects the crystallization mechanism of amorphous nanocrystalline alloys and soft magnetic properties, the crystallization behavior of (Fe0.83B0.11Si0.02P0.03C0.01)100-xCux (x = 0 and 0.5) amorphous ribbons was investigated based on kinetic and thermodynamic behavior under non-isothermal and isothermal annealing conditions. The results show that under non-isothermal annealing conditions, the Cu0.5 amorphous ribbon not only favors the formation of the amorphous structure, but also enlarges the temperature window for annealing and improves the thermal stability of the α-Fe(Si) phase. At the same time, the Cu0.5 amorphous ribbon shows slow kinetic and is insensitive to heating rate change during annealing treatment. Under isothermal conditions, the addition of Cu decreases the nucleation activation energy (En) and increases the growth activation energy (Eg). This further indicates that the nucleation of α-Fe(Si) grains is easier than the growth process, which is conducive to the formation of a homogeneous nanostructure and improves the soft magnetic properties of the alloy. Compared to Cu0 amorphous ribbon, it is also shown that the Cu0.5 amorphous ribbon changes the crystallization mechanism from diffusion-controlled one-dimensional to two-dimensional growth when the crystallization volume fraction x is 10–30 vol%. While three-dimensional growth become dominated when x is reaches 60 vol% for both ribbons. Therefore, the kinetics of crystallization as well as microstructure supports that the Cu0.5 ribbon is able to exhibit uniformly fine nanocrystalline structures. Further, the Cu0.5 nanocrystalline ribbon shows a higher Bs of 1.85 T and a lower Hc of 2.55 A/m, respectively, and the favorable (100) orientation of α-Fe(Si) grains formed after annealing is another factor to increase Bs.

Refinement of Nanoporous Cu by Polyvinylpyrrolidone and Photodegradation of Methyl Orange by Cu2O Nanowires and Nanoporous Cu Photocatalysts

Refinement of nanoporous Cu (NP Cu) by the addition of Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in HF solution during dealloying of Ti40.6Zr9.4Cu40.6Ni6.3Sn3.1 amorphous ribbons and effect of the surface coverage of Cu2O nanowires obtained by immersing NP Cu in dehydrated ethanol on the photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) pollutants were investigated. The sizes of pores and ligaments of NP Cu decrease significantly with the increase of PVP concentration in the dealloying solutions, accompanied by a drastic decrease in the surface diffusivity and the dislocation defect densities. The surface coverage of Cu2O nanowires becomes higher with an increase of the PVP reagents. The Cu2O nanowires@nanoporous Cu (Cu2O@NP Cu) catalysts show excellent photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of MO under the sunlight due to the existence of large amounts of heterojunctions between Cu2O nanowires and Cu ligaments in nanoscale.

Improving the degradation and magnetization performance of FePC amorphous alloys by annealing treatment

The Fe80PxC20-x ingots and amorphous ribbons (4.5 ≤ x ≤ 6.5) are arc melted and melt spun respectively. The Rhodamine B degradation performance of as spun and annealed ribbons are investigated with various methods. In present alloys, increasing P content (cP) can inhibit the precipitation of primary α-Fe and graphite phases, and promote the formation of eutectic α-Fe + Fe3C + Fe3P phases in ingots and annealed ribbons. With increasing annealing temperature (Tan), the primary α-Fe grain size of the ribbons with cP = 4.5 at.% increases gradually and that of the ribbons with cP = 6.5 at.% increases firstly and then decreases. The degradation performance and reusability of the ribbons show a similar Tan-dependent behavior, which can be explained by the size effect of the galvanic cells. Meanwhile, the saturation magnetisation Bs and coercivity Hc of the ribbons with cP = 4.5 and 6.5 at.% increase with increasing Tan, showing a near-linear change of the reaction rate constant k against ln (Bs·Hc). This work not only studies the mechanism of improving degradation performance for FePC amorphous alloys by annealing treatment, but also reveals a correlation between degradation performance and magnetization performance of FePC alloys.

Flexible Mini‐Inductors with Ultra‐High Inductance Density Directly Cut from Soft Magnetic Amorphous Alloys by Femtosecond Laser

AbstractInductors are indispensable parts in power modules of electronic devices. With the rapid development of flexible and wearable electronic devices, developing flexible micro‐inductors with large energy storage has become an urgent task. In this research, a sophisticated femtosecond laser ablation technique is employed to craft circular spiral mini‐inductors via selective etching of soft magnetic amorphous alloy ribbons. Remarkably, while these inductors possess dimensions akin to human fingerprints, they demonstrate an impressively elevated inductance value of ≈1.15 µH at 1 MHz. The inductance density is ≈280–390 nH mm−2, which is ≈10 times larger than conventional circular spiral inductors and is attributed to the high permeability of the amorphous alloys. Furthermore, the inductors showcase commendable flexibility, marked by stellar elasticity and a bending endurance exceeding 2500 cycles, thanks to the amorphous alloys' superior elastic strain limit. When integrated with an LM2576‐3.3BT buck converter, the fabricated inductor achieved a peak power conversion efficiency nearing 70%. These findings underscore the potential of such flexible mini‐inductors in the landscape of flexible electronics.

Energy loss analyses of amorphous magnetic ribbons by multi-frequency single sheet tester

Due to low values of both thickness and conductivity, Fe-based amorphous soft magnetic ribbon (AR) is an attractive alternative to crystalline silicon steel (CS) for elevated frequencies f up to several kHz. On the other hand, for corresponding tests of losses P, the only standardized method is restricted to just 400 Hz. Recently, we reported “Physically Consistent Loss Testing” (CLT) for loss tests of CS for f up to 10 kHz. Here, we describe an adaptation of a corresponding multi-frequency single sheet tester for AR-applications. The CS single sheet is replaced by six 50 cm long and 17 cm wide ARs, loosely inserted into a paper envelope. This “envelope technique” provides (i) simple sample arrangement in an absolutely flat state, (ii) high repeatability, (iii) robust sensor signals, (iv) avoidance of loss increases due to magneto-mechanical effects, and (v) averaging over thickness variations of ARs through as much as 100 g of sample mass. Here, we report the results of frequency analyses for sinusoidal magnetization in the longitudinal direction for induction up to 1.5 T for f < 1 kHz and 0.4 T for 10 kHz, with P up to 50 W/kg. Anisotropy tests confirm a very weak dominance of the transverse direction. In conclusion, CLT proves to be an effective tool for loss tests on both CS and AR as a physically consistent principle. Therefore, for the ongoing standardization of SST with H-coil, we recommend considering the integration of the “envelope technique” in order to establish rapid and universal multi-frequency loss testing.

Corrosion of Pure Magnesium and Binary Magnesium Alloy in Ringer's Solution

The work presents monitoring of the corrosion rate for pure magnesium and the binary magnesium alloy Mg72Zn28. Alloying elements with a purity of 99.9% were used. The melting was performed under the protection of inert gas - argon in an induction furnace. The liquid alloy was poured into a copper mold. In order to make amorphous ribbons, the obtained samples in the form of rods were re-melted on a melt spinner machine. The next step was to perform corrosion tests in Ringer's solution. Corrosion tests were carried out at a temperature of 37°C and pH 7.2. The purpose of using Ringer's solution was to recreate the conditions for the body fluids of the human body. The use of the following research methods, such as: OCP (open circuit potential), LSV (linear sweep voltammetry) and EIS (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy), was aimed at determining the corrosion resistance of the tested materials. Tests carried out in Ringer's solution showed that pure magnesium has significantly worse corrosion resistance than the binary Mg72Zn28 alloy. The conducted research also confirmed that the cathodic reaction takes place faster on the surface of amorphous ribbons. It was also confirmed that for both crystalline materials there is diffusion of chloride ions through the corrosion product layer. SEM-EDS tests were performed on the surface of an amorphous ribbon of the Mg72Zn28 alloy after corrosion in Ringer's solution.

Achieving tailorable nano-crystallization in a fully amorphous Zr50Cu42Al8 alloy

In this work, Zr50Cu42Al8 alloy was rapidly quenched into as-cast rod with nano-glass microstructure and fully amorphous as-spun ribbon, respectively. The different microstructure between the as-cast rod and as-spun ribbon results in the different glass transition, crystallization temperatures and their kinetics. The continuous heating transition (CHT) curves of the as-cast rod and as-spun ribbon derived from their heating rate dependence of onset crystallization temperature imply that the partial nano-crystallization stabilizes the amorphous remainders in the Zr50Cu42Al8 rod when annealed below ∼ 757 K, and give rise to the possibility to obtain nano-crystallization by annealing the fully amorphous ribbons within the temperature interval between the two CHT curves. It is as expected that the ribbons annealed at 730 K for 678 second and at 720 K for 3644 second respectively show similar microstructure and thermal properties to the as-cast rod. The results provide a valid way to achieve tailorable nano-crystallization in the fully amorphous alloys.

Peculiarities of Magnetization Processes of Cobalt-Based Amorphous Alloy Ribbons in the As-Quenched State

Peculiarities of Magnetization Processes of Cobalt-Based Amorphous Alloy Ribbons in the As-Quenched State

Non-Contact Current Sensing System Based on the Giant Magnetoimpedance Effect of CoFeNiSiB Amorphous Ribbon Meanders.

A sensitive non-contact sensing system based on the CoFeNiSiB amorphous ribbon giant magnetoimpedance (GMI) effect is proposed for current testing. The sensing system consists of a GMI probe, a sinusoidal current generator, a voltage follower, a preamplifier, a low-pass filter, and a peak detector. Four different GMI probes derived from amorphous ribbon meanders are designed and fabricated through MEMS processes. GMI probes were driven by a 10 MHz, 5 mA AC current. A permanent magnet was used to provide a bias magnetic field for the probe. The effect of the bias magnetic field on the output DC voltage was investigated. This non-contact current sensing system exhibits good sensitivity and linearity at a bias magnetic field Hbias = 15 Oe. The sensitivity can reach up to 24.2 mV/A in the ±1.5 A range.

Annealing crystallization control mechanism of catalytic degradation properties of Fe-based amorphous ribbons

Amorphous alloys are meta-stable materials with long-range disordered atomic structure, which have excellent catalytic degradation performance and are also susceptible to crystallization, but the mechanism of the effect of crystallization on their catalytic properties has not been clarified. Therefore, the effect of the annealing crystallization process on the microstructure of Fe-Si-B-Cu-Nb industrial amorphous ribbons and their catalytic degradation properties for acid orange 7 are investigated in this work. It is found that the catalytic degradation performance of the ribbons decreases dramatically after having been annealed at 460–580 ℃ , and its reaction rate constant is less than 0.01 min<sup>–1</sup>. The main reason is the formation of <i>α</i>-Fe precipitation phase in the ribbons after having been annealed at high temperatures and the destruction of the substable amorphous structure. These reduce the rate of hydroxyl radical formation. In contrast, the catalytic degradation performance of the 650–700 ℃ annealed ribbons increases significantly, which increases to 3.77 times the degradation rate of the as-cast ribbons. The decolorization rate of acid orange 7 by the annealed ribbons reaches 99.22% within 15 min, which is 1.12 times that of the as-cast ribbons. The improvement of the catalytic degradation performance is attributed to the primary cell effect between the crystalline phase and the metal compounds and the substitution reaction between the Cu-enriched clusters and zero-valent iron. In this study, the influence mechanism of annealing crystallization on the performance of Fe-Si-B-Cu-Nb industrial amorphous ribbons for degrading azo dyes is revealed, which provides theoretical and experimental support for using aged iron-based amorphous ribbons to purify printing and dyeing waste-water and achieve “purification of waste-water by using alloy waste”.