Nanocrystalline Fe-P-Si alloys

Annealing Fe-P-Si amorphous alloys was found to produce nanocrystalline par ticles and raise the microhardness of the alloys by a factor of 2 to 3. The most significant strengthening was observed in the alloys containing the s mallest amounts of Si and P and the largest amount of the alpha-Fe-based ph ase. As shown by xray diffraction acid electron microscopy, the alloy consi sting entirely of nanocrystalline phases with a particle size of about 25 n m crystallizes in three steps.