Charge transfer and concentration dependence of magnetization in amorphous Fe-B alloys

Measurements are reported of the magnetic moment μ/sub Fe/ of Fe atoms in amorphous Fe/sub 1-x/B/sub x/ alloys. The observed concentration dependence of μ/sub Fe/ can be explained qualitatively in terms of a simple rigid-band model assuming a transfer of ν electrons per B atom to the Fe d-band. The rigid band is assumed as described by the density of states of densely packed structures. The best agreement is obtained for the charge transfer of about 1.5 electrons per boron atom yielding the observed critical concentration x = 0.60 at which magnetism disappears. Details of the density of states and the assumed number of electrons for pure Fe do not change the characteristic features of the μ/sub Fe/ versus x dependence. (author)