Abstract
We present an ab initio determination of the crystallographic phase stability of Fe-Co alloys as a function of concentration, using the coherent potential approximation. A bcc → hcp phase transition is found at a concentration of 85 at. % of Co, in good agreement with the experimental phase diagram. We demonstrate that for the Fe-rich random alloys magnetism stabilizes the bcc phase relative to the close-packed fcc and hcp phases. Magnetism also favors the partially ordered phase relative to the random bcc alloy. This unique relation between magnetism and phase stability for the Fe-Co alloys is analyzed by a spin-polarized canonical d-band model. © 1996 The American Physical Society.
- Received 18 December 1995
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.54.3380
©1996 American Physical Society