Structural and Giant Magneto-impedance properties of Cr-incorporated Co-Fe-Si-B amorphous microwires

Abstract

The investigation is focused on the effect of Cr incorporation for Co/Fe in (Co(0.5)Fe(0.5))(78-x)Cr(x)Si(8)B(14) (x=0-12) amorphous microwires of 110 mu m diameter prepared by in-water quenching technique. The rise in crystallization onset T(X1) with Cr addition revealed the elemental contribution against devitrification and a consequent thermal stability. Cr is unfavorable towards ferromagnetic ordering leading to a linear drop in Curie temperature T(ca) with its rise in concentration. The presence of low Cr content upto Cr-4 at.% has been effective in drastically improving the Giant magneto-impedance (GMI) property. Cr content in the range of 4 < X < 10 has low magnetostriction and maximum field sensitivity in the as-quenched state. The GMI properties are further improved after annealing treatment. High content of Cr > 10 is found to be deleterious towards GMI behavior and its consequent application as sensor material. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.