Structural and Giant Magneto-impedance properties of Cr-incorporated Co-Fe-Si-B amorphous microwires

Abstract The investigation is focused on the effect of Cr incorporation for Co/Fe in (Co 0.5 Fe 0.5 ) 78− x Cr x Si 8 B 14 ( x =0–12) amorphous microwires of 110 μm diameter prepared by in-water quenching technique. The rise in crystallization onset T X1 with Cr addition revealed the elemental contribution against devitrification and a consequent thermal stability. Cr is unfavorable towards ferromagnetic ordering leading to a linear drop in Curie temperature T ca with its rise in concentration. The presence of low Cr content upto Cr-4 at.% has been effective in drastically improving the Giant magneto-impedance (GMI) property. Cr content in the range of 4≤ X ≤10 has low magnetostriction and maximum field sensitivity in the as-quenched state. The GMI properties are further improved after annealing treatment. High content of Cr>10 is found to be deleterious towards GMI behavior and its consequent application as sensor material.