Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
The effects of adding small amounts of phosphorus to amorphous Fe78Si9B13 alloys have been investigated. Substituting boron atoms by phosphorus improves the thermal stability of the glassy alloys. The optimum stability is reached at about 1.2 at. % phosphorus concentration. With respect to the soft ferromagnetic properties, the saturation induction increases rapidly with increasing phosphorus concentration, reaches a maximum around 0.1–0.2 at. % and then decreases upon further addition. The highest induction value was achieved with 0.1 at. % phosphorus after field annealing for 2 hours around 633K. The mechanical strength of the amorphous alloy is greatly reduced for phosphorus concentrations larger than 0.4 at. %.