Thermopower and hardness characterization of structural relaxation and crystallization in FINEMET type amorphous precursor alloy

In this paper, the thermopower (U) and hardness (HV) of FINEMET type glasses are studied during structural relaxation and beyond the crystallization onset. In this multicomponent alloy (Fe_{73.5-x}Si_{13.5}B_{9}Nb_{x}Cu_{1}) both property changes are more complex than that in binary Fe-B glasses. The phenomenon of relaxation and the crystallization onset can be successfully distinguished in both property changes. Simultaneously with the hardness increase, a slope increase in the thermopower versus temperature dependences was observed if crystallization started. The character of both property changes does alter drastically at the beginning of amorphous-nanocrystalline transformation. Similar trends were measured on samples undergoing traditional isothermal and pulse heat treatments