Effect of Zr/B ratio on β relaxation, structural heterogeneity, and magnetic properties of Fe-Zr-B amorphous alloys.

• Fe 84 Zr x B 16- x (x = 6, 8, and 10 at. %) alloys show pronounced β relaxation characteristic. • A positive correlation between the β relaxation and structural heterogeneity appears in Fe-based amorphous alloys. • With increased Zr/B ratio, β relaxation is easily activated and structure becomes more heterogeneous. • Alloys with easily activated β relaxation or more heterogeneous structure possess poor soft magnetic properties. Dynamic relaxation is an universal feature in amorphous alloys. However, few studies have been conducted on β relaxation of Fe-based amorphous alloys as most of them have insignificant β relaxation characteristics. In this work, the variation in β relaxation, structural heterogeneity, and soft magnetic properties are investigated in Fe-Zr-B amorphous alloys with pronounced β relaxation. β relaxation and structural heterogeneity are characterized by the ratio of β and α relaxation temperature (i.e., T β /T α) and correlation length, respectively. With the increase of Zr/B ratio, the value of T β /T α and the correlation length tend to decrease. Alloys with easily activated β relaxation or more heterogeneous structure possess poor soft magnetic properties, i.e., a significant reduction in saturation magnetic flux density and an increase in coercivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]