Temperature stability of field induced anisotropy in soft ferromagnetic Fe,Co-based amorphous and nanocomposite ribbons

The temperature stability of field induced uniaxial anisotropy (K-U) was investigated by thermomagnetic treatments of (Co1-xFex)(89)Zr7B4 amorphous ribbons after field annealing below and above the crystallization temperature. We conclude: (1) Field annealing treatments are necessary to properly investigate the temperature stability of K-U, (2) K-U of field crystallized alloys exhibit improved temperature stability relative to alloys remaining amorphous after field annealing, and (3) larger K-U is obtained for field crystallization treatments as compared to zero-field crystallization followed by field reannealing. Field crystallization may be required for elevated temperature applications when field induced anisotropy is critical for performance. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3068547]