Effect of continuous rapid annealing on the microstructure and properties of Fe85P11C2B2 amorphous alloy.

• Fe-based amorphous alloy was treated by the continuous rapid annealing. • B s and H c of the as-annealed alloy are 1.66 T and 7.6 A/m, respectively. • As-annealed ribbon can be bent 180° without breaking. • Precipitation of α-Fe with a size of 2–5 nm is responsible for the good properties. Fe-based amorphous alloys are promising soft magnetic materials for applications in power electronic devices. However, the practical use is inevitably limited by their brittleness that results from annealing. In this paper, an Fe 85 P 11 C 2 B 2 amorphous alloy was heat treated by using a self-designed continuous rapid annealing equipment. After rapidly annealing the amorphous precursors at 773 K for 0.3 s, the α-Fe phase with a size of 2 ∼ 5 nm precipitated, and the ribbon sample exhibits a high saturation magnetization (B s) of 1.66 T and low coercivity (H c) of 7.6 A/m in combination with good bending ductility. This work will provide a new heat treatment method for the soft-magnetic Fe-based amorphous alloy that can inhibit annealing-induced brittleness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]