Magnetic Annealing Experiments in Some Cu-Ni-Fe and Cu-Ni-Co Alloys

In a spinodally decomposing ferromagnetic precipitation alloy, magnetic annealing effects might be expected to occur if the precipitation in a field is carried out near the Curie temperature of the quenched phase. Cu-Ni-Fe and Cu-Ni-Co alloys are known to undergo spinodal decomposition. Several alloys in these systems were solution treated, quenched, and aged in a field applied along a diameter of the disk-shaped specimens. Torque curves were then measured. The Cu-Ni-Fe alloys showed no effect, but all three Cu-Ni-Co alloys investigated showed uniaxial anisotropy. The largest Ku, attained in an alloy of 50% Cu, 20% Co, and 30% Ni, was 5×104 erg/cm3. Nevertheless, the parallel and perpendicular remanence and coercive force were only a few percent different.