Sm-Fe-N hard magnetic materials are good candidates for high performance bonded magnets. Rapid-quenching method should be highly favorable for the fabrication of isotropic magnet powder with high coercivity. We report here the magnetic properties of Sm-Fe-N powders produced by three kinds of rapid-quenching processes. Sm
2Fe
17 powders were prepared by gas-atomization (GA), rotating-disk atomization (RDA), and melt-spinning (MS) methods. The Sm
2Fe
17 GA powder had dendritic solidification structure, while the RDA powder had microcrystalline structure with size of 3-5μm. Coercivities (H
cJ ) of their nitrides were 56 (for GA) and 217 kA/m (for RDA). The HcJ of nitrided Sm
2Fe
17 MS powder with wheel velocity (V
s) of 5-20 m/s, which had also microcrystalline structure, was 53 to 509 kA/m. These coercivity values are not sufficient for practical value (600 kA/m) for bonded magnet applications. From the study of additive effects, it was found that C, C-Si, C-Ga, or C-Al addition decreased the grain size of quenched Sm
2Fe
17 powder. Consequently, high coercivity was obtained; the HcJ of nitrided Sm
2Fe
15C
1Si
1 MS powder with Vs of 10 m/s was 898 kA/m, and 708 kA/m for the nitrided Sm
2Fe
15C
1Si
1 RDA powder. The compression-molded bonded magnet made from Sm
2Fe
18Si
0.1N
x MS powder showed a high (BH)
max of 82.7 kJ/m
3.
抄録全体を表示