Magnetic properties of rapidly quenched amorphous Fe-Sm alloys

Abstract

The structural analysis and investigation of magnetic properties were carried out on rapidly quenched Fe 100− x Sm x (10.5 ⩽ x ⩽ 80) alloys. Amorphous alloys are fabricated in a wide composition range from x = 17 to 72.5. After heating the amorphous alloys up to 900 K, they transform into metastable phase I ( T c = 465 K)+ α-Fe ( x < 20), metastable phase II ( T c = 555 K)+α-Fe (20 ⩽ x ⩽ 33.3) and Fe 2Sm+Sm ( x⩾40). The composition dependence of Curie temperature and magnetization is found to be similar to that of amorphous Fe-(Nd, Pr) alloys. A maximum coercive force of about 1.1 kOe at 300 K and 12 kOe at 77 K is obtained in the x = 40 alloy. The rapid decrease in coercive force with raising temperature can be explained by the wall pinning model proposed by Gaunt. The pronounced composition dependence of these magnetic properties for the amorphous Fe-Sm alloys can be considered to be caused by the change in the short-range atomic order with Sm concentration on the basis of the results of X-ray structural analysis.