The influence of the cluster connection modes on the soft magnetic properties in the Fe78Si9B13 amorphous ribbon.

• The structures of the annealed Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 amorphous ribbons have been obtained by X-ray diffraction and Reverse Monte Carlo simulation. • The cluster connection modes in the annealed Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 amorphous ribbons at different temperatures has been uncovered. • The mechanism underlying the cluster connection modes and the saturation magnetization has been discussed. The structures and magnetic properties of Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 amorphous ribbons were detected after annealing at different temperatures. Compared with the clusters in the Fe B amorphous alloy, the second shell of B B coordination is replaced by Si B coordination in the clusters of the Fe 78 Si 9 B 13 amorphous alloy. The interaction between Fe and B atoms is strengthened at a higher annealing temperature. Based on the Gaussian decomposition toward the splitting second peaks in g (r) curves, the shared connection modes of the clusters have been obtained. The main connection modes between the clusters of all the samples are the three-atom-shared connection and the one-atom-shared connection. With the increasing annealing temperature, the three-atom-shared connection is enhanced, and the one-atom-shared connections are weakened. Combined with the results of the magnetic hysteresis curves, it is found that the enhancement of the three-atom-shared connection is responsible for the increase of the saturation magnetization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]