Effect of atomic order on the electrical and magnetic properties of Fe100-xSix (6<×<14) alloys

The influence of order phenomena on the electrical and magnetic properties of a series of Fe-Si alloys is analyzed. Electrical resistivity and hysteresis loop measurements are performed on alloys after different thermal treatments, including annealing and quenching from several temperatures. Mössbauer spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry were used to characterize both the type of order existing in the alloys and the order-disorder transition temperature. For the highest quenching temperature, the highest magnetic losses are measured due to internal stresses and disordering induced during quenching. High electrical resistivity is obtained by high-temperature quench only when the Si content was over 10.6 at.%. This occurred due to an order-disorder transition, which reduces the B2 degree of order present in the alloy. On the other hand, disordering appears to be detrimental for the excess losses due to the creation of antiphase domain boundaries.