Characterization of the Fe-FexSb Eutectic System with Respect to Structure and Ferromagnetic Properties

Abstract

Unidirectional solidification of the Fe‐Fe_xSb eutectic resulted in the formation of aligned twelve‐sided iron rods in an Fe_xSb matrix. The iron rods grew in the [111] direction and the Fe_xSb matrix in the [001] direction. Half of the interfaces were parallel to the {110}Fe and {211}Fe_xSb and the others were parallel to {211}Fe and {100}Fe_xSb. Magnetic measurements on the controlled specimens showed that they had a much larger coercive force than bulk iron. The opening of the hysteresis loop is attributed to the small size and large aspect ratio of the iron rods.