Crystallographic Texture and Domain Structure of Nd3.8Dy0.7Pr3.5Fe86Nb1B5 Nanocomposite Prepared by Direct Rapid Solidification

Strong crystallographic texture and high performance of Nd3.8Dy0.7Pr3.5Fe86Nb1B5 (containing 30% α-Fe) nanocomposite permanent magnetic material was prepared by direct rapid solidification. X-ray diffraction analysis and magnetic measurement indicated that the ribbons had preferential orientation. The easy magnetization direction switched from perpendicular to the ribbon plane to parallel to the ribbon plane direction as the wheel speed increased from 10 m/s to 30 m/s. The multigrain domains were observed by scan probe microscope (SPM) in the ribbons prepared at wheel speed of 10–30 m/s. The Henkel plots were employed to investigate the interactions of the grains in the samples. A very fine and uniform microstructure with the average grain size about 16 nm was obtained in the sample prepared at wheel speed of 30 m/s. The sample consisted of highly oriented hard magnetic phase (Nd,Dy,Pr)2(Fe,Nb)14B and soft magnetic phase α-Fe. High performance of Br=1.29 T, Mr/Ms= 0.76 and (BH)max=158.4 kJ/m3 was achieved due to the strong crystallographic texture, fine and homogeneous microstructure and enhancement of the exchange coupling between the soft and hard magnetic phases in this sample. The mechanism of the formation of the crystallographic texture and the multigrain domains was also discussed.