Combinatorial synthesis of nanocrystalline FeSiBPCuC–Ni–(Nb,Mo) soft magnetic alloys with high corrosion resistance

Abstract Fe-based nanocrystalline FeSiBPCuC alloys (NANOMET®) with a combination of high magnetic flux density, high permeability, and low iron loss have attracted much attention for use in magnetic core devices such as small power supplies, motors, and transformers. However, further improvement of the corrosion resistance is still required because surface oxidation during the water atomization process inevitably deteriorates the magnetic properties of these alloys. Here, we use a combinatorial magnetron sputtering system to fabricate new (FeSiBPCuC)100−x−yNix(Nb,Mo)y (0 ≤ x ≤ 10, 0 ≤ y ≤ 2 at%) amorphous thin films with enhanced corrosion resistance. We found that the co-presence of Ni (2–4 at%) and Mo (1–2 at%) in the FeSiBPCuC amorphous thin films promoted a further improvement of the corrosion resistance. The magnetic coercivity of (FeSiBPCuC)95.5Ni4.0Nb0.5 and (FeSiBPCuC)97.0Ni2.0Mo1.0 thin films was deteriorated compared with that of a FeSiBPCuC ribbon.