Magnetic and magnetoelastic properties of Fe-Si-B metallic fibers

Amorphous metallic Fe/sub 78/Si/sub 9/B/sub 13/ fibers, 50 /spl mu/m in diameter, produced by the melt extraction method, have been studied in the as-quenched state and after furnace annealing at 455/spl deg/C and 480/spl deg/C for times between 0.5 min and 50 min. Measurements of the M-H loops and field dependence of Young's modulus have shown that they behave in a way very like that of amorphous wires. The minimum coercivity of 3 A/m is greater than that found in wires, and the minimum Young's modulus (/spl sim/0.45 times the saturation value) is greater. It is suggested that the core-shell domain model applies in the as-quenched state and that stress relief followed by surface crystallization dominate the anisotropy.