MAGNETIC-BEHAVIOR OF METASTABLE FCC FE-CU AFTER THERMAL TREATMENTS

A ferromagnetic and supersaturated fcc Fe51Cu49 solid solution has bee n obtained by mechanical alloying. After subsequent thermal treatments the fcc phase undergoes a spinodal decomposition which finally, at 78 0 K, yields a mixture of fcc and bcc phases. In this work, a systemati c magnetic study is carried out on samples at different decomposition states in order to determine the process of transformation into the st able phases. We observe a 20% maximum diminution on the magnetic momen t with increasing temperatures of the thermal treatment. The Mossbauer spectrum taken at 8 K shows that 20% of the Fe atoms are in a nonferr omagnetic state. On the other hand, upon heating up to 723 K the room- temperature coercive field increases dramatically to 640 Oe, and after cooling down to 10 K it decreases to 270 Oe. Deviations from the T3/2 law in the temperature dependence of the magnetization have been obse rved. This behavior is explained by fluctuations in composition due to the spinodal decomposition, which lead to fluctuations of the magneti c order parameters, i.e., magnetic moment and Curie temperature.