Local environment effects on the magnetic state of Fe in amorphous Cu0.6Zr0.4−xFex alloys

Abstract Measurements of the susceptibility χ and specific heat C of melt-spin amorphous 0753 1455 V 2 Cu 0.6 Zr 0.4− x Fe x (0.05 ⩽ × ⩽ 0.1) are reported. They show that for x = 0.08 and x = 0.1 a small fraction of Fe atoms retain their magnetic moment, leading to spin glass like behaviour in χ and C . In contrast, for x = 0.05 no magnetic Fe atoms can be detected from χ, and bulk superconductivity is observed below 0.1 K. These results are attributed to the strong sensitivity of the Fe magnetic moment to its local environment.