Effects of Cu on crystallographic and magnetic properties of Sm(Co,Cu)7

Abstract

We have investigated the structural stability and magneticproperties of SmCo7−xCux compounds with theTbCu7-typestructure using x-ray powder diffraction and magneticmeasurement. A large solid solution with 0.8 ≤ x ≤ 4.0 in SmCo7−xCuxcompounds has been observed. Both the lattice parameters and unit cell volumeincrease with increasing Cu content. SmCo7−xCuxcompounds exhibit ferromagnetic order. A strong uniaxial magnetocrystallineanisotropy with an anisotropy field as high as 20 T is obtained withx = 0.8at 5 K. However, the saturation magnetization and Curie temperature decreasewith increasing Cu content.