Consolidation of Sm5Fe17 powder by spark plasma sintering method

Sm5Fe17 bulk materials, one of the newer permanent magnetic materials, were successfully produced by the spark plasma sintering method. The resultant bulk materials had high densities of 85–98%. When obtained by sintering at relatively lower temperatures, the Sm5Fe17 bulk materials consisted of the Sm5Fe17 and SmFe3 phases, whereas they contained some α-Fe phase together with the Sm5Fe17 and SmFe3 phases when obtained by sintering at relatively high temperatures. High coercivity values, exceeding 2 MAm−1, were found in the Sm5Fe17 bulk materials consisting of the Sm5Fe17 and SmFe3 phases.