Stress-induced selective nano-crystallization in laser-processed amorphous Fe–Si–B alloys

It is shown that laser processing results in localized compressive stresses in amorphous Fe–Si–B, leading to homogeneous nano-crystallization at the edges of the laser track. The mechanism can be attributed to enhanced diffusivity at these edges, resulting from a reduced diffusion activation barrier, which has been calculated by coupling the results of a thermal model with microstructural characterization.