High coercivity in Sm2Fe17Nx magnets

Abstract

Using mechanical alloying and a subsequent two‐step heat treatment we produced magnetically isotropic microcrystalline Sm₂Fe₁₇N_x samples with room‐temperature coercivities up to 24 kA/cm (30 kOe). The remanence and the energy product are equivalent to similarly prepared Nd‐Fe‐B samples, but the properties at elevated temperatures are superior because of the high Curie temperature of 470 °C and the large anisotropy field of 14 T at room temperature. From differential scanning calorimetry it is concluded that the 2:17 nitride is metastable. It decomposes into Sm nitride and α‐Fe above 600 °C.