This article is cited in 17 papers

Atomic clusters

Structure of $\alpha$-FeSi alloys with 8 and 10 at% silicon

N. V. Ershov^a, Yu. P. Chernenkov^b, V. A. Lukshina^a, V. I. Fedorov<sup>b

a</sup> Institute of Metal Physics, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ekaterinburg
^b The Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, The National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute"

Abstract: The atomic structure of single-crystal samples of Fe$_{1-x}$Si$_x$ ($x$ = 0.08, 0.10) alloys has been investigated using X-ray diffraction. It has been shown that the body-centered cubic (BCC) lattice of these alloys contain clusters with local ordering of the $B$2 type, which are characteristic of alloys with depleted composition ($x$ = 0.05–0.06). The Fe$_3$Si phase with the $D0_3$ structure has been revealed at silicon concentrations $x$ = 0.08 and 0.10. The volume fraction of Fe$_3$Si-phase regions increases both with an increase in the silicon concentration in the Fe$_{1-x}$Si$_x$ alloy and during annealing of the samples with this silicon concentration at a temperature of 450$^\circ$C. Based on the results obtained, it has been concluded that the anisotropic distribution of the $B$2 clusters, which arises as a result of thermomagnetic or thermomechanical treatment, is responsible for the induction and stability of the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in the Fe$_{1-x}$Si$_x$ ($x$ = 0.05–0.10) alloys.

Received: 12.03.2012

 English version: Physics of the Solid State, 2012, 54:9, 1935–1942

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