Microstructure and magnetic properties of uncoupled Sm2Co17–Cu nanocomposites

International audienceNanocomposite Sm2Co17–Cu particles have been fabricated by low energy comilling of mechanically alloyed Sm2Co17 particles with Cu nanoparticles. The x-ray diffraction analyses show that the diffraction crystallite size (DCS) of Sm2Co17 decreases with increasing comilling time. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy observation demonstrates that the particle size is in the range of the DCS and the Sm2Co17 particles are separated by Cu particles. The coercivity as well as the remanence ratio decreases with increasing milling time due to the grain size reduction and grain separation. The nanocomposite Sm2Co17–Cu exhibits suitable magnetic and microstructure properties for high-density recording