Micromagnetism and the microstructure of high-temperature permanent magnets

Sm2(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, a...