Magnetic Properties of Sm-Zr-Fe Melt-Spun Ribbons

Sm_5-xZr_xFe₁₇ (x=0-1) alloys produced by melt-spinning consisted of the fully amorphous phase and showed low coercivity. The (Sm,Zr)₅Fe₁₇ phase could be produced by annealing of the amorphous melt-spun ribbon. The Curie temperature of the (Sm,Zr)₅Fe₁₇ phase increases with increasing Zr content. The annealed Sm_5-xZrxFe17 (x=0.5-1) melt-spun ribbons consisted of the (Sm,Zr)₅Fe₁₇ and SmFe₃ phases and showed an attractively large coercivity. On the other hand, Sm_5-xZr_xFe₁₇ (x=1.5-2) alloys produced by melt-spinning consisted of the SmFe₃ phase together with the amorphous phase and showed some low coercivity. The annealed Sm_5-xZr_xFe₁₇ (x=1.5-2) melt-spun ribbons consisted of the (Sm,Zr)Fe₃ phase together with the (Sm,Zr)₂Fe₁₇ phase. Despite the fact that the annealed Sm_5-xZr_xFe₁₇ (x=1.5-2) melt-spun ribbons did not contain the (Sm,Zr)₅Fe₁₇ phase, they still exhibited large coercivity. The annealed Sm₄Zr₁Fe₁₇ melt-spun ribbon exhibited the highest coercivity of 9.2 kOe with a remanence of 50 emu/g, whereas the annealed Sm_3.5Zr_1.5Fe₁₇ melt-spun ribbon exhibited the highest remanence of 60 emu/g with a coercivity of 5.0 kOe.