Fe-Cr-Co alloys have great technological potential to replace Alnico alloys as hard magnets. The relationship between the microstructures and the magnetic properties has been recently established for some of these alloys. The magnetic hardening has been attributed to the decomposition of the high temperature stable phase (α) into an elongated Fe-rich ferromagnetic phase (α1) and a weakly magnetic or non-magnetic Cr-rich phase (α2). The relationships between magnetic domains and domain walls and these different phases are yet to be understood. The TEM has been used to ascertain the mechanism of magnetic hardening for the first time in these alloys. The present paper describes the magnetic domain structure and the magnetization reversal processes in some of these multiphase materials. Microstructures to change properties resulting from, (i) isothermal aging, (ii) thermomagnetic treatment (TMT) and (iii) TMT + stepaging have been chosen for this investigation. The Jem-7A and Philips EM-301 transmission electron microscopes operating at 100 kV have been used for the Lorentz microscopy study of the magnetic domains and their interactions with the finely dispersed precipitate phases.
Phase Transformation and Magnetic Hardening in Isolated FePt Nanoparticles
