Relationship between crystal growth mode, preferred orientation and magnetostriction of (Tb0.3Dy0.7)Fe1.95 alloys

The relationship between crystal growth mode, preferred orientation and magnetostrictive properties of (Tb0.3Dy0.7)Fe1.95 alloys was investigated at different directional solidification rates. The results showed that preferred orientation had a strong influence on the characteristics of (Tb0.3Dy0.7)Fe1.95 alloys. At lower solidification rates, the sample with <110> preferred orientation showed larger low-field magnetostriction and apparent compressive stress effect. The excessive solidification rate resulted in failure of preferred orientation and a poor magnetostrictive performance. With an increase in solidification rates, the crystal growth modes changed gradually from cellular and primary dendrite morphology to developed dendritic morphology. In addition, domain configurations were observed using magnetic force microscopy, and the change of magnetostrictive properties was interpreted in terms of revealing the domain configurations.