Giant enhancement in the magnetostrictive effect of FeGa alloys doped with low levels of terbium

We present the effects of terbium additives upon the microstructure and magnetic properties of Fe83Ga17Tbx alloys (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8), prepared by vacuum electric arc-melting and directional solidification techniques. Experiments indicate that small amounts of terbium more than double the saturation magnetostriction of a [110] textured Fe83Ga17 alloy with λ = 72 × 10−6 and lower the magnetostriction saturation field. The pronounced increase in magnetostriction stems from the appearance of [100] texture in polycrystalline alloys. It is verified that [110] and [100] textures are enhanced by the introduction of terbium atoms preferentially residing in a Tb-rich intergranular phase.