Effect of Cu and P on the crystallization behavior of Fe-rich hetero-amorphous FeSiB alloy

Abstract

The effect of simultaneously adding P and Cu on the crystallization behavior of hetero-amorphous FeSiB alloy was investigated. Thermal properties and microstructure evolution were studied by means of X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning, and isothermal calorimetric methods. It is found that the addition of P and Cu to the FeSiB alloy changes its crystallization temperature as well as the apparent activation energy for crystallization. The crystallization process is mainly dominated by three-dimensional growth with various nucleation rates for the selected FeSiB(PCu) alloys. The phases formed during crystallization for the different alloys of Fe84Si12, Fe83.3Si4B 12Cu0.7, and Fe8.3Si4B 8P4Cu0.7 are similar. The refinement effect of adding P and Cu to the FeSiB alloys is observed. The mean size of α-Fe phases decreases from 200 nm to about 20 nm. © 2009 The Japan Institute of Metals.