Effects of Mn Substitution for B and Two-Step Annealing on the Amorphous-Forming Ability, Soft-Magnetic Properties, and Microstructure of Fe–Si–B–C–Cu Alloys
摘要
Alloying and annealing are key strategies for improving the soft-magnetic performance of Fe-based amorphous/nanocrystalline alloys. We systematically investigated the amorphous-forming ability (AFA), soft-magnetic properties, and microstructure of Fe₈₂Si₄B₁₂−xC₁Cu₁Mnₓ (x = 0–2) with B partially replaced by a trace amount of Mn while keeping the Fe content constant. Conventional annealing (CA) was compared with two-step annealing (TSA). All compositions showed good AFA and a wide annealing temperature window (ΔTx). Atomic rearrangement during pre-annealing (structural relaxation) increased the nucleation density of Cu clusters in the amorphous matrix. TSA markedly influenced the coercivity (Hc), saturation magnetic flux density (Bs), and α-Fe grain number density (Nd). The Fe82Si4B11C1Cu1Mn1 alloy obtained by TSA exhibited excellent magnetic properties, with Bs = 1.77 T, Hc = 5.41 A/m, and µe = 1.31 × 104 at 1 kHz. Meanwhile, the Nd of α-Fe increased from 8.33 × 1021 m− 3 to 2.48 × 1022 m− 3.