Peculiarities of the ‘crystallization’ kinetics of Fe73.5Cu1Nb3Si13.5B9ribbon to the nanostructured phase

Continuous heating as well as isothermal differential scanning calorimetry was used to study the transformation of Fe73.5Cu1Nb3Si13.5B9ribbons to a crystalline state. The scanning ‘crystallization’ peak was small and wide, with a long high-temperature tail. It shifted to higher temperatures after pre-annealing. The isothermal transformation signals always decreased monotonically, only the amplitude changing with temperature, but not the position. All of these abnormal characteristics may be explained in terms of a grain-growth mechanism, involving the coarsening of already existing crystal nuclei to give the crystalline material.