Structural transformations in quenched Fe-Ga alloys

It has been speculated that the large increase in magnetostriction in Fe-Ga alloys results from local short-range ordering of the Ga atoms along specific crystallographic directions in the disordered Fe structure. The structural transitions associated with different cooling rates from the high temperature disordered state were investigated with X-ray diffraction of oriented single crystals of Fe-19 at% Ga. Results are presented for long-range ordering during slow cooling and indirect evidence of local short-range ordering of Ga atoms in the disordered state when the alloys are quenched is also presented. In the latter case, the short-range ordering of Ga atoms leads to a tetragonal distortion of the lattice. The dependence of the magnetostrictive response of Fe-Ga alloys on thermal history has been found to be directly related to these structural transformations in Fe-19 at% Ga alloys and experimental support for the proposed magnetostriction model based on Ga-Ga pairing along [100] crystallographic directions is presented. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.