Influence of the magnetoelastic mechanism on the fluctuating switching field of Fe-based amorphous microwires

The temperature dependence of the switching field and its fluctuations for a bistable Fe-based glass coated microwires family with magnetostriction values from 2/spl times/10/sup -6/ to 28/spl times/10/sup -6/ is presented in the temperature range 77-425 K. A simple model considering two energy contributions from magnetoelastic pinning and structural relaxation is considered to fit experimental data. Particularly, the contribution of magnetostriction and coating stresses to the temperature dependence of magnetoelastic term is analyzed in more detail. The relative magnetoelastic contribution is shown to increase with Fe content as magnetostriction increases, as well as with temperature. The contributions to magnetostriction from single-ion and two-ion mechanisms are also analyzed.