The glass forming abilities and magnetic properties of Fe–Al–Ga–P–B–Si and Fe–Al–Ga–P–B–C alloys

An investigation of glass forming abilities and thermal properties of Fe76−xAl4P12GaxB4Si4 and Fe75−xAl5P11GaxB4C5 (where x=0, 2, 5) soft magnetic alloys was carried out using melt-spun ribbons of various thicknesses and suction cast rods of various diameters. For the Si-containing alloys, the critical thickness of amorphous ribbon increased from 55 to 110 μm between x=0 and 5. On the other hand, for the carbon containing alloys, increasing x from 0 to 5 resulted in a decrease in critical thickness of amorphous ribbon from 150 to 100 μm. These data allowed the critical diameter of glassy cylindrical samples Dc to be estimated for appropriate alloy compositions and these are compared with experimental observations for suction cast rods. The magnetic properties, including the hysteresis loops and coercivity iHc, were determined by dc inductive magnetometry. sults indicate surprisingly low values of iHc, even for partially crystalline samples. On the other hand, the hysteresis loop shapes suggest a relatively large value of magnetic anisotropy. The possible reason for this behaviour is discussed.