DOMAIN-STRUCTURE OF LOCAL CURRENT ANNEALED AMORPHOUS RIBBONS

Positive and negative magnetostrictive amorphous ribbons have been loc ally current annealed under local stress to induce different anisotrop ies, which have been studied by observing the magnetic domains. In ann ealed samples under low applied stresses, the induced anisotropy is ca used by the internal mechanical stresses produced during the thermal t reatment due to the change in volume of the annealed zones. In anneale d samples under high stresses, the main origin of the induced anisotro py is in the stresses produced by plastic deformation. After current a nnealing, local changes in the magnetostriction constant have been fou nd in Co-based amorphous ribbons with low magnetostriction constant.