High coercive Nd-Fe-B magnets fabricated via two-step sintering

The fabrication of Nd(11)Dy(4)Fe(76.5)TM(2.5)B(6) (TM=Co, Cu, Al, and Nb: at%) sintered magnets via a two-step sintering process was demonstrated. A densification of greater than 99% was achieved using the two-step sintering of the Nd-Fe-B powder. This process produced a sample with an average grain size of 6.2 mu m in the Nd(2)Fe(14)B phase, resulting in an enhancement of the coercivity compared to that of the isothermally sintered sample. The suppression of grain growth was considered to be affected by the relatively low temperature during the two-step sintering and by the presence of a B-rich phase at the triple junction. Consequently, the two-step sintering process led to suppression of grain growth and a uniform grain size distribution, which resulted in improved magnetic properties, in particular in the intrinsic coercivity. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This research was supported by a Grant from the Fundamental R&D Program for Core Technology of Materials funded by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Republic of Korea