Structure and magnetic properties of Fe-B-Si-Zr metallic glasses

Fe-based amorphous alloys were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission Mössbauer spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry. The studies were performed on (Fe_{0.75}B_{0.15}Si_{0.1})_{100-x}Zr_{x} (x=0, 1, 3) metallic glasses in the form of ribbons. The glassy samples were prepared by the "melt spinning" technique in argon protective atmosphere. The XRD patterns show the broad diffraction halo that is typical for amorphous Fe-based alloys. The Mössbauer spectroscopy allows to study the local environments of the Fe atoms in the glassy state, showing the changes in the amorphous structure due to the changing of Zr addition. From hysteresis loops obtained from vibrating sample magnetometry measurements, coercive force and saturation magnetization were determined versus different Zr content. The obtained magnetic properties allow to classify the studied amorphous alloys in as-cast state as soft magnetic materials.