Impact of Ion Irradiation upon Structure and Magnetic Properties of NANOPERM-Type Amorphous and Nanocrystalline Alloys

Abstract

Structural modifications and their impact upon magnetic properties are studied in amorphous and nanocrystalline NANOPERM-type57Fe75Mo8Cu1B16alloy. They are introduced by irradiation with 130 keV N+ions to the total fluencies of up to 2.5 × 1017 ions/cm2under different cooling conditions. Increased temperature during the irradiation triggers formation of nanocrystallites of bcc-Fe in those subsurface regions that are affected by bombarding ions. No crystallization occurs when good thermal contact between the irradiated sample and a sample holder is assured. Instead, structural rearrangement which favours development of magnetically active regions was determined by the local probe methods of Mössbauer spectrometry. Dipole magnetic interactions dominate in subsurface regions on that side of the ribbons which was exposed to ion irradiation. Nevertheless, structural modifications demonstrate themselves also via macroscopic magnetic parameters such as temperature dependence of magnetization, Curie temperature, and hysteresis loops. Impact of only the temperature itself to the observed effects is assessed by the help of samples that were subjected just to heat treatment, that is, without ion irradiation.