Large Barkhausen discontinuities in Co-based amorphous wires with negative magnetostriction

Magnetic properties, such as domain patterns and anisotropy, were measured for negative magnetostrictive Co-Si-B amorphous wires exhibiting large Barkhausen discontinuities and the results are compared to those of Fe-Si-B wires with positive magnetostriction. The Co-based wire was found to have a bamboolike domain structure at the wire surface. It was also shown that the amorphous wires prepared by the in-water quenching technique store tensile stress in the radial direction. The magnetostrictive anisotropy due to residual stress will produce an axial component of magnetization in conjunction with the two-dimensional geometry of wires making both Co- and Fe-based wires exhibit large Barkhausen discontinuities along the axis of the wire.