Investigating the crystallization process in a FeCrB metallic glass by combining magnetic and neutron thermo-diffraction experiments

The structural evolution of a Fe70Cr10B20 metallic glass was followed by means of in situ high-temperature neutron thermo-diffraction and magnetization measurements. Above 723 K the crystallization of bcc-Fe together with a metastable (FeCr)3B phase with tetragonal crystal structure (space group 1) is observed. Further heating gives rise to the transformation of the (FeCr)3B phase into another tetragonal (FeCr)2B phase (space group 14 / mcm) + bcc- Fe. On cooling down to room temperature no additional structural transformations occurred. This two-step crystallization process allows understanding quantitatively the intricate variation of the magnetization at high-temperature