Radiation Effects in Amorphous Metallic Alloys as Revealed by Mössbauer Spectrometry: Part II. Ion Irradiation

Due to their excellent magnetic properties, amorphous metallic alloys (AMAs) are considered for the construction of magnetic cores of radio-frequency cavities in accelerators. Here, they might be exposed to ion bombardment. The influence of irradiation by both light and heavy ions featuring low and high energies, respectively, is followed by the techniques of 57Fe Mössbauer spectrometry. Modifications of surface layers in selected Fe-containing AMAs after ion irradiation are unveiled by detection of conversion electrons and photons of characteristic radiation whereas those in their bulk are derived from standard transmission spectra. Rearrangement of microstructure which favors the formation of magnetically active regions, is observed in surface regions bombarded by light ions. Heavy ions caused pronounced effects in the orientation of net magnetization of the irradiated samples. No measurable impact upon short-range order arrangement was observed. Part I of this paper is devoted to radiation effects in Fe-based AMAs induced by neutron irradiation.

Radiation Effects in Amorphous Metallic Alloys as Revealed by Mössbauer Spectrometry: Part I. Neutron Irradiation

Iron-based amorphous metallic alloys (AMAs) of several compositions were exposed to neutron irradiation with fluences of up to 1019 n/cm2. These materials exhibit excellent magnetic properties which predetermine them for use in electronic devices operated also in radiation-exposed environments. Response of the studied AMAs to neutron irradiation is followed by Mössbauer spectrometry which probes the local microstructure. Neutron irradiation leads to rearrangement of constituent atoms, their clustering, and formation of stress centers. The observed modifications of topological short-range order result in changes of spectral parameters including average hyperfine magnetic field, , standard deviation of the distribution of hyperfine fields, and position of the net magnetic moment. After irradiation, especially differences in -values develop in two opposite directions. This apparent controversy can be explained by formation of specific atomic pairs with different exchange interactions, which depend on the composition of the samples. Part II of this paper will be devoted to radiation effects caused in Fe-based AMAs by ion irradiation.