STRESS ANNEALING IN FE73.5CU1TA3SI13.5B9 AMORPHOUS ALLOY - INDUCED MAGNETIC-ANISOTROPY AND VARIATION OF THE MAGNETOSTRICTION CONSTANT

The effect of Joule heating anneals, carried out with the simultaneous application of a mechanical stress (stress-current annealing), on the anisotropy and magnetostriction of Fe73.5Cu1Ta3Si13.5B9 amorphous sam ples is investigated. As a result of these thermal treatments an uniax ial in-plane magnetic anisotropy, characterized by the constant K(sigm a), was induced in the samples. The dependence of K(sigma) on the anne aling temperature shows a maximum around 450-degrees-C which can be co nnected to the first stages of the crystallization process. From the m easurement of the stress dependence of the magnetization work W(m), th e magnetostriction constant lambda(s), of the as-quenched and thermall y treated samples was also evaluated. The results obtained show how th e presence of two phases in the partially crystallized material determ ines the magnetoelastic behavior of these samples.