Nanocrystalline Fe88−2xCoxNixZr7B4Cu1 alloys: Soft magnets for vehicle electrification technologies (invited)

We report on the effect of substituting Co and Ni for Fe on the crystallization behavior, crystal structure, and magnetic properties of Fe88−2xCoxNixZr7B4Cu1 (x = 0–22.00). The magnetization generally decreases and the coercivity increases with increasing x, whereas the Curie temperature of the amorphous phase increases significantly (from 73 °C at x = 0 to 570 °C at x = 22.00). There is thus an optimum composition near x = 5.50 exhibiting excellent soft magnetic properties at 300–500 °C. The higher magnetization and Curie temperature as compared with Fe-based alloys, and smaller Co content as compared with (Fe,Co)-based alloys, make this alloy attractive as an affordable high-temperature soft magnetic material.