CURIE-TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT OF METASTABLE ALLOYS USING HIGH HEATINGRATE

The Curie temperatures (T-C) of amorphous CoxFe85-xB15, amorphous and partially crystallized FINEMET metastable alloys were investigated by high heating rate a.c. magnetic measurements. For the Co alloys, the a im was to increase the crystallization temperature above the Curie tem perature, using the highest possible heating rate. The highest heating rate achieved was 113 K s(-1) (6780 K min(-1)). This was enough only for CoxFe85-xB15 alloys with low x-values to avoid crystallization bel ow the Curie temperature. At higher x-values, the crystallization was found to be very near to T-C. Extrapolations of the Curie temperature could be made better than has previously been the case in the literatu re. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.