Texture and microstructure characterizations of Fe-3.5wt%Si soft magnetic alloy fabricated via laser powder bed fusion

Manufacturing stable grain-oriented electric steel with fewer procedures remains a challenge due to the formation of detrimental gamma-fiber ((111)//ND) texture. In this work, Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) process was employed to obtain a strong lambda-fiber ((100)//ND) texture in a Fe-3.5wt%Si electrical steel. The texture and microstructure were characterized by Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD), Scanning Electron Microscopy/ Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) and High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM). The EBSD results showed a strong lambda-fiber texture on the top plane of Fe-Si alloy. It included {001}( 001) Cube texture, {001}(110) rotated cube texture and {100}(105) texture. With the lowest energy density, an area fraction of 16.6% gamma-fiber texture was formed on the top plane. Additionally, the formation of amorphous precipitates in additively manufactured Fe-Si alloy was firstly reported. The lattice constant of 2.7975 angstrom was calculated in the matrix area. The work has shown LPBF can open a new door to manufacture grain-oriented electrical steel for industrial applications.