Glass-coated Co-rich amorphous microwires with enhanced permeability

Nearly-zero magnetostriction glass-coated amorphous (Co1-xMnx)(75)Si10B15 ( x = 0.06, 0.07 and 0.08 at.%) microwires have been fabricated by Taylor-Uli tovsky technique. Such slight changes in x resulted in rather strong change s in the hysteresis loops. The optimum soft magnetic characteristics in as- cast material are observed for x = 0.07. The effect of heat treatment and c hemical etching has been investigated in order to further improve their mag netic properties. Magnetic field annealing at elevated temperature and/or l ong-time chemical etching results finally in magnetic bistability of microw ires. Experimental results are interpreted in terms of the balance between magnetoelastic anisotropy arising from internal stresses, the shape anisotr opy and the induced anisotropy by field annealing. Obtained experimental re sults can be used for tailoring high initial permeability of soft magnetic materials with enhanced initial permeability. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A . All rights reserved.