Structural analysis of nanocrystals and their role in the coercivity mechanism of Nd-Fe-Al-Dy bulk amorphous ferromagnets

The magnetic property and microstructure of Nd60-xFe30Al10Dyx, (x=0, 2, 4) bulk ferromagnets have been investigated. At room temperature, each alloy sample shows hard magnetic behavior, and the intrinsic coercivity increases significantly with increasing Dy content. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Atom probe tomography (APT) results show nanocrystals of width 5-20 nm embedded in the Fe-rich amorphous matrix. The coercivity mechanism of the Nd60-xFe30Al10Dy (x=0, 2, 4) amorphous alloys is discussed in the context of Gaunt's strong pinning model of domain walls. The crystallographic phases of nanocrystals identified by high-resolution TEM can act as pinning centers. Our findings give further insight into the coercivity mechanism of Nd-based bulk amorphous alloys through a better understanding of the nanostructural environment. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.