Magnetostrictive devices

In a magnetostrictive device, the improvement comprising a magnetostrictive component consisting essentially of an amorphous alloy represented by the formula:

• (M.sub.w X.sub.x B.sub.1-w-x).sub.1-yl (R.sub.z La.sub.1-z) where w is from about 0.7 to about 0.9;
• x is from 0 to about 0.10;
• y is from about 0.05 to about 0.15;
• z is from 0 to about 0.95;
• M is selected from the class consisting of iron, cobalt, an iron-cobalt alloy, an iron-manganese alloy having at least 50 atomic percent iron, an iron-cobalt-manganese alloy having at least 50 percent iron and cobalt, X is a auxillary glass former selected from the class consisting of phosphorous, carbon, silicon, aluminum, arsenic, germanium, indium, antimony, bismuth, tin, and mixtures thereof, and R is a lanthanide selected from the class consisting of promethium, samarium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium thulium, and mixtures thereof.