Effect of continuous rapid annealing on the microstructure and properties of Fe₈₅P₁₁C₂B₂ amorphous alloy

Fe-based amorphous alloys are promising soft magnetic materials for applications in power electronic devices. However, the practical use is inevitably limited by their brittleness that results from annealing. In this paper, an Fe₈₅P₁₁C₂B₂ amorphous alloy was heat treated by using a self-designed continuous rapid annealing equipment. After rapidly annealing the amorphous precursors at 773 K for 0.3 s, the α-Fe phase with a size of 2 ∼ 5 nm precipitated, and the ribbon sample exhibits a high saturation magnetization (B_s) of 1.66 T and low coercivity (H_c) of 7.6 A/m in combination with good bending ductility. This work will provide a new heat treatment method for the soft-magnetic Fe-based amorphous alloy that can inhibit annealing-induced brittleness.