ISSN:
1089-7550
Source:
AIP Digital Archive
Topics:
Physics
Notes:
The phase evolution, microstructure, and magnetic properties of Nd8Fe86B6−xCx (x=0, 2, 4, 5, 6) melt-spun ribbons were systematically studied as a function of C content. It was found that the addition of C decreases the glass-forming tendency of the as-spun ribbons significantly. A uniform nanoscale exchange coupled Nd2Fe14(BC)/α-Fe microstructure with an average grain size of 20–25 nm can be developed in the directly quenched ribbons with C contents up to 4 at. %. Further increase of C content to x=5 leads to, in the optimally quenched ribbons, the presence of an undesirable Nd2Fe17Cx phase in addition to the 2:14:1 and α-Fe phases, whereas the alloy ribbon containing 6 at. % C consists almost entirely of the soft magnetic Nd2Fe17Cx and α-Fe phases. Subsequent annealing induces a transformation of the 2:17:Cx phase to the 2:14:1 phase +α-Fe in the ribbons with x=5 and 6, resulting in the formation of a composite 2:14:1/α-Fe structure having relatively large crystallite sizes. Magnetic measurements revealed that, for the optimally processed samples, replacement of up to 4 at. % of B by C significantly increases the coercivity iHc, with only slight reduction in remanence Jr; an optimum coercivity of 542 kA/m was obtained in the Nd8Fe86B2C4 ribbon compared with 430 kA/m for the Nd8Fe86B6 ribbon. Excessive substitution of C (x〉4) causes a drastic deterioration of both iHc and Jr due to the microstructural coarsening. Moreover, the Curie temperature of the 2:14:1 phase in the samples decreases progressively with increasing C content from 312 °C for x=0 to 270 °C for x=6. © 2002 American Institute of Physics.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1450037
Permalink
