Exchange coupling between soft magnetic ferrite and hard ferromagnetic Sm2Fe17N3 in ferrite/Sm2Fe17N3 composites

In our previous work, we succeeded in fabricating ferrite/Sm2Fe17N3 composite magnets from explosive-consolidating Sm2Fe17N3 powders (2 mu m size) which were coated with a continuous iron ferrite layer (50nm thick) in an aqueous solution. The magnetization curves had no inflection, which suggests that the soft magnetic ferrite layer is exchange-coupled with the hard ferromagnetic Sm2Fe17N3 particles. In this paper, we provide evidence of exchange coupling in ferrite/Sm2Fe17N3 composites by the following means: 1) measurements of recoil permeability, 2) detailed microstructural observation and 3) calculations of the reduction in remanence due to the introduction of a ferrite layer in the Sm2Fe17N3 magnets. Our ferrite/Sm2Fe17N3 composite magnets are a novel type of spring magnet in which an insulating soft magnetic phase is exchange-coupled with hard magnetic phase. (C) 2016 Author(s).