Coercivity enhancement and thermal-stability improvement in the melt-spun NdFeB ribbons by grain boundary diffusion

Rapidly quenched NdFeB ribbons with high coercivity were obtained by Nd70Cu30 diffusion process. Samples with a high coercivity of 22.02 kOe at room temperature were obtained after grain boundary diffusion with 20 wt% Nd70Cu30 alloys. The NdCu diffusion process promoted grain growth in the ribbons, and grain boundary phases were formed with Cu segregation among NdFeB grains. Coercivity above 10 kOe at 150 °C was achieved in the bonded magnets with NdCu content over 10 wt%. The flux loss of bonded magnets was reduced by ∼32% at 120 °C after diffusion treatment with only a small amount (2 wt%) of NdCu.