Distribution of Magnetization in Single-Crystals of Iron-Silicon Soft Magnetic Alloys before and after Heat Treatments

The distribution of magnetization in single-crystal samples of silicon iron made in the form of thin disks after heat treatments under the influence of a magnetic field or mechanical stress was determined by Mössbauer spectroscopy. At contents of 5 and 8 at % Si, the samples had a cubic ({100}), and at 6 at % Si, a Goss ({011}) orientation of the crystallographic axes. Using the parameters obtained as a result of deconvolution of Mössbauer spectra, the relative fractions of the magnetic moments of iron atoms oriented along the easy magnetization axes are determined. It has been shown that annealing and cooling in a ferromagnetic state under an external influence of the field or stress applied along the plane of the sample redistributes the magnetic moments in favor of the easy magnetization axes lying in the sample plane. The greatest effect is achieved during annealing in a direct-current magnetic field. At the same time, there is a rather large fraction of magnetization oriented outside the plane of the sample, which may be explained by the action of a demagnetizing factor.