Stress-induced magnetization reorientation in amorphous ribbons

Amorphous magnetic alloys are magnetically soft, hence it should be easy to align the moments. The magnetization orientation can be found by Moessbauer spectroscopy, by assuming a 3:x:1:1:x:3 area ratio for sextets. However, x rarely reaches the value 4 expected for perfect in-plane alignment. We show that it is difficult to determine the value of x for iron alloy ribbons due to their very broad spectral lines. Also thickness effects must be taken into account. Hence, the observed line areas may reflect problems with our ability to fit these spectra, rather than a general tendency for the moments to resist perfect alignment. (orig.)