Micromagnetism and the microstructure of high-temperature permanent magnets

Abstract

Sm 2 ( Co , Cu , Fe , Zr ) 17 permanent magnets with their three-phase precipitation structure (cells, cell walls, and lamellae) show two characteristic features which so far are difficult to interpret but which are the prerequisites for high-temperature applications: (1) The hard magnetic properties only develop during the final step of the three-step annealing procedure consisting of homogenization, isothermal aging, and cooling. (2) Depending on the composition and on the annealing parameters, the temperature dependence of the coercivity can be easily changed from the conventional monotonic to the recent nonmonotonic behavior showing coercivities up to 1T even at 500K. The magnetic hardening during cooling is due to the fact that the cell walls order chemically and structurally during the cooling process. From an analysis of electron diffraction patterns of the superimposed structures existing before and after cooling it could be proven that a phase transition from a phase mixture of defective phases 2:17, 2:7, and 5:19 to the ordered 1:5 phase takes place in the cell walls during cooling. The nonmonotonic temperature dependence of the coercivity is narrowly related to the magnetic hardening mechanism which can be either pinning or nucleation and results from the magnetic and microstructural properties of the cell walls. These properties have been determined quantitatively from hysteresis loop measurements and from high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis. Due to the temperature dependence of the intrinsic magnetic properties, the nonmonotonic temperature dependence of the coercivity is found to be determined by repulsive pinning of domain walls at the cell walls at low temperatures, by attractive pinning of domain walls in the cell walls at intermediate temperatures, and by nucleation at high temperatures. This complex temperature behavior is also reflected in characteristic changes of the angular dependence of the coercivity and can be described quantitatively on the basis of micromagnetism.