Interface magnetism in Fe-based nanocrystalline alloys

Nanoscale materials exhibit properties that can not be find in larger scale system due to the crystal size effects as well as structural variations between the interfacial regions and the crystalline interior. In this paper the consideration of the finite-size effects are limited to a special class of nonconventional granular materials produced by the devitrification of Fe-based amorphous ribbons. The complementary microstructural and magnetic studies show that in such mesoscopic systems the interfaces exhibit identifiable properties. The data presented do not provide the detailed picture of the internal structure of the boundary regions but bring information about their basic structural and magnetic properties. In particular the influence of the magnetic state of the intergranular amorphous matrix (ferro-or paramagnetic) on the local magnetic behavior of the interfaces is considered. The effect of the symmetry restriction at grain boundaries on the structurally sensitive parameter such as a magnetostriction is also presented and discussed.