Development of crystal texture in Nd-lean amorphous Nd9Fe85B6 under hot deformation

Abstract

A key challenge in synthesizing anisotropic nanocomposite magnets is to form crystallographic texture for R2Fe14B crystals in R-lean alloys (R=rare earth, R<10 at. %). Here, we demonstrate a (00l) texture development for Nd2Fe14B nanocrystals in a Nd-lean amorphous Nd9Fe85B6 under a hot deformation at a large uniaxial stress of ∼310 MPa. The unusual texture formation is attributed to a preferential nucleation of Nd2Fe14B crystals in amorphous matrix at the large stress. The present study provides an opportunity to yield anisotropic nanocomposite magnets from Nd-lean alloys and thus is of wide interest.