| Summary: | The development of Fe-based nanocrystalline alloys with high saturation magnetization (<i>B</i><sub>s</sub>), excellent magnetic softness and good manufacturability is highly desirable. Here, the effect of substituting 1 at% P for B and Si on the thermal stability, microstructure and magnetic properties of Fe<sub>76</sub>Cu<sub>0.8</sub>Nb<sub>2.2</sub>B<sub>9</sub>Si<sub>12</sub> alloy has been studied in detail. It was found that replacing B with P effectively reduces the coercivity (<i>H</i><sub>c</sub>) of the alloy without deteriorating the <i>B</i><sub>s</sub> and permeability (<i>μ</i>). However, replacing Si with P has little effect on the <i>H</i><sub>c</sub> and <i>B</i><sub>s</sub>, yet significantly reduces the <i>μ</i>. The variation in the magnetic properties can be well understood from the evolution of the microstructure and magnetic anisotropy induced by P microalloying. The Fe<sub>76</sub>Cu<sub>0.8</sub>Nb<sub>2.2</sub>B<sub>8</sub>Si<sub>12</sub>P<sub>1</sub> alloy with a good processing window, a high <i>B</i><sub>s</sub> of 1.41 T, a great <i>μ</i> of 29,000 at 1 kHz and a low <i>H</i><sub>c</sub> of 0.6 A/m is suitable for high-power electronic devices.
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