Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
Formation of the nanocrystalline bcc Fe phase due to thermal treatment of the amorphous Fe80M7B12Cu1 (M: Ti, Ta, Nb, Mo) precursors is studied by the Mössbauer and differential scanning calorimetry techniques. The dependence of the formation of the bcc Fe phase on the alloy composition is discussed. In order to determine the optimal soft magnetic properties of these nanocrystalline alloys the rf-Mössbauer technique is used in which rf collapse effect induced by a radio-frequency (rf) magnetic field is employed. It was found that anisotropy fields in the nanocrystalline phase were smaller in Nb- and Mo-containing alloys as compared to the alloys which contain Ti or Ta. Variations of the anisotropy field vs. alloy composition and annealing temperature are discussed in detail.