Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2000
EELS (electron energy loss spectrometry) in the transmission electron microscope (TEM) was used to determine the composition of a nanocrystalline magnetic specimen. The relative amounts of the hard magnetic phase Nd2Fe14B and the soft magnetic phase Fe3B at the point of measurement was measured by standard EELS quantification. In order to determine the structure of Fe3B present, the fine structure of the boron K-ionisation edge was analysed. Comparison of the experimental spectra with simulations of the fine structures based on the TELNES extension of the WIEN97 program package, a full potential linearised augmented plane wave approach to the calculation of electronic structure in crystals, shows that the tetragonal form of Fe3B is predominant.