Uncovering the magnetic and electrical properties of (Fe_0.65Co_0.35)_100-xNb_x alloys for x<1

In the interest of improving the applicability of FeCo alloys as soft magnets and closing gaps in previous studies, additions of 0.5 and 0.7 (in mass percentage) of Nb are evaluated for Fe65Co35 alloy (mass %) in terms of mechanical, magnetic and electric properties. Arc melted and cold rolled samples show an expected increase in deformation performance, the main hurdle of the binary alloy. Arc melted and hot rolled sheets reveal microparticles produced by the Nb additions, increases in the magnetic permeability and coercivity, generally maintaining the original softness of the binary material. Nb additions results in saturation magnetostriction values of around 40 ppm. Decreases smaller than 6% in the saturation polarization are reported at room temperature. A significant and unexpected reduction in the resistivity was found for the 0.7% Nb addition to the Fe65Co35 alloy, while the 0.5% Nb addition retains a resistivity value in the usual range. Both additions can result in viable soft magnetic materials, which are less expensive than the commonly used equiatomic alloy due to a decrease in the Co amount and have the potential for further improvements of their softness and magnetostriction through slight changes in the fabrication process.