Abstract
The microstructure and magnetic properties of nanocomposite Fe93Nb2Nd5B5 alloy produced by crystallization of an amorphous phase were investigated. Melt-spun ribbons form a nanocomposite structure consisting mainly of bcc-Fe, Nd2Fe14B, and residual amorphous phases after annealing at a temperature of 1023 K. The nanocomposite alloy exhibits improved values of the remanence (Jr), coercive force (HcJ), and maximum energy product ((BH)max) after annealing at a higher heating rate (α) in the temperature range corresponding to the primary crystallization temperature of the bcc-Fe phase. The grain sizes of each phase decrease with increasing α. The improvement in the hard magnetic properties brought about by rapid annealing is presumably due to improved homogeneity in the nanocomposite structure.
