Specification
FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See section 10, Rule 13]
RARE EARTH SINTERED MAGNET, METHOD FOR PRODUCING RARE EARTH
SINTERED MAGNET, ROTOR, AND ROTARY MACHINE
MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION, A CORPORATION ORGANISED
AND EXISTING UNDER THE LAWS OF JAPAN, WHOSE ADDRESS IS 7-
3, MARUNOUCHI 2-CHOME, CHIYODA-KU, TOKYO 1008310, JAPAN
THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION PARTICULARLY DESCRIBES THE
INVENTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PERFORMED.
2
DESCRIPTION
TITLE OF THE INVENTION:
RARE EARTH SINTERED MAGNET, METHOD FOR PRODUCING RARE EARTH
SINTERED MAGNET, ROTOR, AND ROTARY MACHINE5
Field
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a rare earth
sintered magnet which is a permanent magnet obtained by
sintering a material containing a rare earth element, a10
method for producing a rare earth sintered magnet, a rotor,
and a rotary machine.
Background
[0002] R-T-B-based permanent magnets having a tetragonal15
R2T14B intermetallic compound as a main phase are known.
Here, R is a rare earth element, T is a transition metal
element such as Fe (iron) or Fe that is partially replaced
by cobalt (Co), and B is boron. R-T-B-based permanent
magnets are used for various components having a high added20
value, including for example industrial motors. In
particular, Nd-Fe-B-based sintered magnets in which R is
neodymium (Nd) are used for various components due to
excellent magnetic properties. In addition, because
industrial motors are often used in a high temperature25
environment exceeding 100°C, attempts have been made to
improve coercive force by adding heavy rare earth elements
such as dysprosium (Dy) to Nd-T-B-based sintered magnets.
[0003] In recent years, the production of Nd-Fe-B-based
sintered magnets has been expanded, and the consumption of30
Nd and heavy rare earth elements such as Dy and terbium
(Tb) has been increased. However, Nd and heavy rare earth
elements are expensive and also have a procurement risk due
3
to high distribution unevenness. In view of this, a
possible measure for reducing the consumption of Nd and
heavy rare earth elements is to use a magnet that forms a
main phase including a low heavy rare earth phase, to use
other rare earth elements as R, such as praseodymium (Pr),5
cerium (Ce), lanthanum (La), samarium (Sm), scandium (Sc),
gadolinium (Gd), yttrium (Y), and lutetium (Lu), or to use
a special production method such as subjecting a sintered
body to hot plastic working. Hereinafter, hot plastic
working applied to a sintered body is referred to as hot10
working. However, adding a heavy rare earth element to the
main phase to no small extent contributes to improvement of
the coercive force, but significantly degrades the residual
magnetic flux density. In addition, replacing all or a
part of Nd with elements such as Pr, Ce, La, Sm, Sc, Gd, Y,15
and Lu significantly degrades the magnetic properties of
the residual magnetic flux density and the coercive force.
Furthermore, subjecting the sintered body to hot working
significantly degrades the magnetization of the magnet due
to the refinement of the crystal grains. From the above,20
it has been difficult to achieve both saving of heavy rare
earth elements and excellent magnetic properties and
magnetization. Therefore, attempts have been
conventionally made to develop technology that allows for
improvement of magnetic properties at room temperature and25
prevention of degradation of magnetic properties associated
with temperature rise in the case of using these elements
for producing Nd-Fe-B-based sintered magnets. In
particular, at present, a rare earth magnet that allows for
both further reduction of heavy rare earth elements and30
excellent magnetic properties and magnetization is
required.
[0004] Patent Literature 1 discloses an R-T-B-based
4
sintered magnet containing main phase grains consisting of
an R2T14B crystal, where R is one or more kinds of rare
earth elements including a heavy rare earth element RH as
an essential element, T is one or more kinds of transition
metal elements including Fe or including Fe and Co as an5
essential element, B is boron. A part of the main phase
grains of the R-T-B-based sintered magnet includes a
plurality of low heavy rare earth element crystal phases
therein, and the low heavy rare earth element crystal phase
is a phase consisting of an R2T14B crystal and having a10
relatively low concentration of the heavy rare earth
element with respect to the concentration of the heavy rare
earth element in the entire main phase grains. According
to the technique described in Patent Literature 1, it is
possible to obtain an R-T-B-based sintered magnet having15
improved magnetic properties at low cost.
[0005] Patent Literature 2 discloses a rare earth magnet
including a main phase having an R2Fe14B crystal structure
where R is a rare earth element, and a grain boundary phase
present around the main phase. The main phase includes a20
core portion, a first shell portion present around the core
portion, and a second shell portion present around the
first shell portion. In the rare earth magnet described in
Patent Literature 2, the abundance ratio of Nd and Pr in
the first shell portion is higher than the abundance ratio25
of Nd and Pr in the core portion and the second shell
portion. In the rare earth magnet described in Patent
Literature 2, the abundance ratio of the heavy rare earth
element in the second shell portion is higher than the
abundance ratio of the heavy rare earth element in the30
first shell portion. As a result, a rare earth magnet
having a further improved coercive force is obtained.
5
Citation List
Patent Literature
[0006] Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application
Laid-open No. 2018-174313
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Application5
Laid-open No. 2021-174818
Summary of Invention
Problem to be solved by the Invention
[0007] However, in the R-T-B-based sintered magnet10
described in Patent Literature 1, a phase including a heavy
rare earth element is present in the main phase, which
improves coercive force but cannot yield the residual
magnetic flux density required for industrial motors or the
like, which may lead to degradation of magnetic properties.15
Furthermore, since heavy rare earth elements are diffused
in the main phase particles, there is a problem that the
amount of heavy rare earth elements used is large, and the
procurement risk and cost cannot be reduced. In addition,
since the rare earth magnet described in Patent Literature20
2 has one type of main phase, the rare earth magnet does
not have a structure in which the anisotropic magnetic
field is sufficiently enhanced, and there is a problem that
it is difficult to obtain high magnetic properties. In
addition, in the rare earth magnet described in Patent25
Literature 2, the shell portion of the main phase has a
two-layer structure in which the abundance ratio of the
heavy rare earth element is different, and the heavy rare
earth element needs to be put in both shell portions, and
thus there is also a problem that it is difficult to30
improve magnetic properties with less heavy rare earth
element.
[0008] The present disclosure has been made in view of
6
the above, and an object thereof is to obtain a rare earth
sintered magnet capable of improving magnetic properties as
compared with the related art, while reducing use of heavy
rare earth elements as compared with the related art.
5
Means to Solve the Problem
[0009] In order to solve the above-described problems
and achieve the object, a rare earth sintered magnet
according to the present disclosure includes: a main phase
that satisfies a general formula (Nd, Pr, R)-Fe-B, where R10
is one or more rare earth elements selected excluding Nd
and Pr, the main phase containing crystal grains based on
an Nd2Fe14B crystal structure; and a subphase present
between a plurality of the main phases. The main phase
includes a core portion and a shell portion covering the15
core portion. The main phase includes a first main phase
that satisfies CNd>CPr and a second main phase that
satisfies CNdCPr and a second main15
phase 12 that satisfies CNdCPr is satisfied in the core portion 11c of the first
main phase 11, and CNdCPr and the second main phase 12 that
satisfies CNdC2Nd and C1PrCPr are present more than the second30
main phase 12 each of which satisfies CNdSNd and15
CPrSPr, where SNd is
the concentration of Nd in the shell portions 11s and 12s
and SPr is the concentration of Pr in the shell portions
11s and 12s. Specifically, the shell portion 11s of the20
first main phase 11 has a higher concentration of Pr than
the core portion 11c instead of having a lower
concentration of Nd, and the shell portion 12s of the
second main phase 12 has a higher concentration of Nd than
the core portion 12c instead of having a lower25
concentration of Pr. By forming the first main phase 11
including the shell portion 11s having a high concentration
of Pr in the main phase 10, the coercive force can be
improved. Furthermore, by forming the second main phase 12
including the shell portion 12s having a high concentration30
of Nd in the main phase 10, it is possible to prevent
degradation of the residual magnetic flux density while
maintaining the coercive force. Through selective control
13
to achieve such a structure form, the rare earth sintered
magnet 1 can exhibit excellent magnetic properties as
compared with the related art.
[0019] In addition, the main phase 10 includes a heavy
rare earth element containing layer 31 containing a heavy5
rare earth element on at least a part of the surface. That
is, a heavy rare earth element is present on at least a
part of the surface of the main phase 10, that is, the
first main phase 11 and the second main phase 12. More
specifically, the heavy rare earth element exists on at10
least a part of the outer peripheral surfaces of the shell
portions 11s and 12s, and the heavy rare earth element does
not enter the core portions 11c and 12c. The heavy rare
earth element is one or more elements selected from the
group consisting of Dy, Tb, Gd, and Ho (holmium). As15
described above, the coercive force increases, since the
heavy rare earth element enters the R sites of the first
main phase 11 and the second main phase 12, but the heavy
rare earth element does not enter the core portion 11c that
is the inside of the first main phase 11 and the core20
portion 12c that is the inside of the second main phase 12,
so that a significant decrease in residual magnetic flux
density can be prevented. That is, it is possible to
prevent a decrease in residual magnetic flux density while
improving the coercive force. In order to obtain such an25
effect, the ratio of the heavy rare earth element in the
main phase 10 is desirably more than 0 at.% but less than
or equal to 10 at.%.
[0020] When the magnetic properties are compared between
the case where the heavy rare earth element is contained in30
the inside of the main phase 10 of the rare earth sintered
magnet 1 and the case where the heavy rare earth element is
contained in the surface layer of the main phase 10, it is
14
known that the same magnetic properties can be obtained by
containing, in the surface of the main phase 10, the heavy
rare earth element having a concentration lower than the
concentration in the case where the heavy rare earth
element is contained in the inside of the main phase 10.5
That is, in the rare earth sintered magnet 1 according to
the first embodiment in which the heavy rare earth element
is contained in the surface layer of the main phase 10, the
amount of the heavy rare earth element used can be reduced
as compared with the case where the heavy rare earth10
element is contained in the inside of the main phase 10.
[0021] Further, the average grain size of the crystal
grains of the main phase 10 is preferably 100 μm or less,
and more preferably 0.5 μm to 50 μm for improving magnetic
properties. Furthermore, setting the average grain size to15
about 1 μm to 10 μm results in a grain size different from
the microstructure produced by hot working, leading to the
rare earth sintered magnet 1 that maintains good
magnetizing ability and has excellent magnetic properties
as compared with the related art.20
[0022] The rare earth sintered magnet 1 according to the
first embodiment may contain an additive element M that
further improves magnetic properties. The additive element
M is one or more elements selected from the group
consisting of Ga (gallium), Cu (copper), Al (aluminum), Co,25
Zr (zirconium), Ti (titanium), Nb (niobium), and Mn
(manganese). Therefore, in the rare earth sintered magnet
1 according to the first embodiment, the general formula is
expressed by (NdaPrbRcRHd)FeeBfMg, where RH is a heavy rare
earth element which is one or more elements selected from30
the group consisting of Dy, Tb, Gd, and Ho, and R is a rare
earth element other than Nd, Pr, and the heavy rare earth
element RH. The additive element M is one or more elements
15
selected from the group consisting of Ga, Cu, Al, Co, Zr,
Ti, Nb, and Mn. It is desirable that a, b, c, d, e, f, and
g satisfy the following relational expressions.
[0023] 5≤a+b≤20
0CPr
and the second main phase 12 that satisfies CNdC2Nd and
C1PrSNd and CPrSPr. This also makes it possible to
obtain the rare earth sintered magnet 1 in which magnetic
properties and magnetization are improved, while reducing
use of Nd and heavy rare earth elements.
[0026] Furthermore, the heavy rare earth element is made5
to be present on at least a part of the surface of the
first main phase 11 and the second main phase 12, and the
heavy rare earth element is made not to be present inside
the first main phase 11 and the second main phase 12. As a
result, it is possible to obtain the rare earth sintered10
magnet 1 in which the coercive force is improved as
compared with the related art while reducing the use of
heavy rare earth elements, and a significant decrease in
the residual magnetic flux density is prevented. That is,
there is an effect that the magnetic properties of the rare15
earth sintered magnet 1 can be improved as compared with
the conventional case.
[0027] In the first embodiment, the first main phase 11
and the second main phase 12 have a core-shell structure
having one layer of shell portions 11s and 12s, and the20
heavy rare earth element only needs to be present on at
least a part of the surfaces of the shell portions 11s and
12s. On the other hand, in Patent Literature 2 having a
two-layer core-shell structure, heavy rare earth elements
need to be diffused into the two-layer core-shell portion.25
Thus, the rare earth sintered magnet 1 according to the
first embodiment also has an effect of reducing the amount
of heavy rare earth elements used as compared with Patent
Literature 2.
[0028] Second Embodiment.30
FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an
exemplary sintered structure of a rare earth sintered
magnet according to the second embodiment. Note that
17
components identical to those in the first embodiment are
denoted by the same reference signs, and the description
thereof will be omitted. The rare earth sintered magnet 1
according to the second embodiment includes the main phase
10 and the subphase 20.5
[0029] The main phase 10 has the same structure as that
of the first embodiment. That is, the main phase 10 has
the first main phase 11 and the second main phase 12 having
a core-shell structure, and the compositions of the core
portions 11c and 12c and the compositions of the shell10
portions 11s and 12s are similar to those described in the
first embodiment. However, in the second embodiment, the
heavy rare earth element containing layer 31 is not present
on the surface of the main phase 10.
[0030] The subphase 20 is a phase based on an oxide15
phase represented by (Nd, Pr, R)-O as a main component.
However, in the second embodiment, the subphase 20 contains
a heavy rare earth element. The heavy rare earth element
is distributed throughout the subphase 20. In one example,
the heavy rare earth element is uniformly distributed20
inside the subphase 20.
[0031] As described above, in the second embodiment, the
subphase 20 having a heavy rare earth element is present
between the main phase 10 and the main phase 10. It can
also be considered that heavy rare earth element is25
uniformly distributed in the subphase 20, and the heavy
rare earth element enters a part of the surface of the main
phase 10 in contact with the subphase 20. That is, it is
considered that the heavy rare earth element does not enter
the core portions 11c and 12c of the main phase 10, but30
enters a part of the shell portions 11s and 12s.
Therefore, similarly to the first embodiment, it is
possible to prevent a decrease in residual magnetic flux
18
density while improving the coercive force of the rare
earth sintered magnet 1.
[0032] As illustrated in FIG. 2, in the rare earth
sintered magnet 1, the main phase 10 is in contact with
another main phase 10 without the subphase 20 interposed5
therebetween, or is in contact with another main phase 10
via the subphase 20. That is, at least a part of the
surface of the main phase 10 is in contact with the
subphase 20. The subphase 20 contains a heavy rare earth
element. Therefore, at least a part of the surface of the10
main phase 10 is covered with the subphase 20 containing
the heavy rare earth element. Viewing the form of the
distribution of the heavy rare earth element with respect
to the main phase 10, the heavy rare earth element is
present on at least a part of the surface of the main phase15
10. That is, for the same rare earth sintered magnet 1,
the first embodiment shows the distribution of the heavy
rare earth element by focusing on the interface between the
main phase 10 and the subphase 20, and the second
embodiment shows the distribution of the heavy rare earth20
element by focusing on the subphase 20. Thus, the first
embodiment and the second embodiment can be said to be the
same rare earth sintered magnet 1 viewed from different
angles.
[0033] Also in the second embodiment, similarly to the25
first embodiment, it is possible to obtain the rare earth
sintered magnet 1 in which the coercive force is improved
as compared with the related art while reducing the use of
heavy rare earth elements, and a significant decrease in
the residual magnetic flux density is prevented. That is,30
there is an effect that the magnetic properties of the rare
earth sintered magnet 1 can be improved as compared with
the conventional case.
19
[0034] Third Embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating an
exemplary sintered structure of a rare earth sintered
magnet according to the third embodiment. The rare earth
sintered magnet 1 according to the third embodiment5
includes the main phase 10 and the subphase 20. The main
phase 10 includes the first main phase 11 and the second
main phase 12 as described in the first embodiment, but in
FIG. 2, the first main phase 11 and the second main phase
12 are collectively denoted by the main phase 10. The10
subphase 20 is present between the main phases 10.
[0035] In the rare earth sintered magnet 1 according to
the third embodiment, a case where La and Sm are selected
as the rare earth element R will be described. In a case
where La and Sm are selected as the rare earth element R,15
the effect of improving the magnetic properties and having
excellent magnetization as compared with the related art,
while reducing use of Nd and heavy rare earth elements, is
further enhanced. In this example, the main phase 10 has
the composition formula (Nd,Pr,La,Sm)2Fe14B. The reason why20
the rare earth element R of the rare earth sintered magnet
1 having a tetragonal R2Fe14B crystal structure is rare
earth elements including La and Sm is that the calculation
of magnetic interaction energy with the use of a molecular
orbital method shows that a composition in which La and Sm25
are added can produce the rare earth sintered magnet 1
which is suitable for practical use in that degradation of
magnetic properties associated with temperature rise can be
significantly prevented. In addition, by intentionally
segregating La and Sm also in the grain boundary, which is30
an example of the subphase 20, it is possible to cause Nd
and Pr to be relatively diffused throughout the main phase
10, resulting in enhanced magnetocrystalline anisotropy of
20
the main phase 10. As a result, a core-shell structure in
which a portion having high magnetic anisotropy and a
portion having low magnetic anisotropy exist in the main
phase 10 is formed, and a state in which the rare earth
sintered magnet 1 in which the first main phase 11 that5
satisfies CNd>CPr and the second main phase 12 that
satisfies CNd(C+D) is
preferably satisfied, where A, B, C, and D are the
composition ratios of Nd, Pr, La, and Sm, respectively.
[0037] In the rare earth sintered magnet 1 according to15
the third embodiment, given R=La and/or Sm, the rare earth
sintered magnet 1 includes the subphase 20 in addition to
the first main phase 11 and the second main phase 12 in the
first embodiment. The subphase 20 includes a crystalline
first subphase 21 based on an oxide phase having a main20
component represented by (Nd, Pr, La, Sm)-O, and a
crystalline second subphase 22 having a main component
represented by (Nd, Pr, La)-O. The concentration of Sm in
the subphase 20 is higher in the first subphase 21 than in
the second subphase 22. That is, the first subphase 2125
forms an Sm enrichment portion 41 having a higher Sm
concentration than the second subphase 22. This achieves
the effect of preventing not only degradation of the
magnetic properties at room temperature but also
degradation of the magnetic properties associated with30
temperature rise.
[0038] Here, “the concentration of Sm is higher in the
first subphase 21 than in the second subphase 22” means
21
that the detection intensity of Sm is higher on average in
the first subphase 21 than in the second subphase 22 by
mapping analysis using EPMA.
[0039] The crystalline subphase 20 is a generic name for
the crystalline first subphase 21 and the crystalline5
second subphase 22, and is present between the main phases
10. The crystalline first subphase 21 is represented by
(Nd, Pr, La, Sm)-O, and the crystalline second subphase 22
is represented by (Nd, Pr, La)-O. Here, (Nd, Pr, La, Sm)
means that a part of Nd and Pr is replaced by La and Sm.10
Note that the elements of the main components are described
in parentheses; therefore, the first subphase 21 and the
second subphase 22 may contain a small amount of another
component, in addition to the elements indicated in
parentheses. In one example, the second subphase 2215
represented by (Nd,Pr,La)-O contains an extremely small
amount of Sm.
[0040] In the rare earth sintered magnet 1 according to
the third embodiment, there is a concentration difference
of La and Sm between the main phase 10 and the subphase 20,20
and La and Sm are segregated in the subphase 20 more than
in the main phase 10. That is, the sum of the
concentrations of La in the first subphase 21 and the
second subphase 22 is equal to or greater than the
concentration of La in the main phase 10, and the sum of25
the concentrations of Sm in the first subphase 21 and the
second subphase 22 is equal to or greater than the
concentration of Sm in the main phase 10. Specifically,
the concentrations of La and Sm in the subphase 20 are
equal to or higher than the concentrations of La and Sm in30
the main phase 10. Here, the concentration of La of the
main phase 10 is the sum of the concentration of La of the
first main phase 11 and the concentration of La of the
22
second main phase 12. That is, the sum of the
concentrations of La in the first subphase 21 and the
second subphase 22 is higher than the sum of the
concentrations of La in the first main phase 11 and the
second main phase 12. Here, the concentration of Sm of the5
main phase 10 is the sum of the concentration of Sm of the
first main phase 11 and the concentration of Sm of the
second main phase 12. That is, the sum of the
concentrations of Sm in the first subphase 21 and the
second subphase 22 is higher than the sum of the10
concentrations of Sm in the first main phase 11 and the
second main phase 12.
[0041] Here, given that X represents the concentration
of La contained in the main phase 10, X1 represents the
concentration of La contained in the first subphase 21, X215
represents the concentration of La contained in the second
subphase 22, Y represents the concentration of Sm contained
in the main phase 10, Y1 represents the concentration of Sm
contained in the first subphase 21, and Y2 represents the
concentration of Sm contained in the second subphase 22,20
the relationship of Formula (1) below is satisfied.
[0042] 1<(Y1+Y2)/Y<(X1+X2)/X •••• (1)
[0043] Furthermore, from the viewpoint of improving the
magnetic properties, the relationships of Formulas (2) and
(3) below are satisfied with respect to the concentrations25
of Nd and Pr contained in the main phase 10.
[0044] (CNd+SNd)>(X+Y) •••• (2)
(CPr+SPr)>(X+Y) •••• (3)
[0045] In the above description, the concentration of La
in the main phase 10 is the sum of the concentrations of La30
in the first main phase 11 and the second main phase 12,
and the concentration of Sm in the main phase 10 is the sum
of the concentrations of Sm in the first main phase 11 and
23
the second main phase 12. This indicates that both La and
Sm are segregated in the subphase 20 more than in the main
phase 10. However, when viewed locally, each of the sum of
the concentrations of La and Sm in the first main phase 11
and the second main phase 12 and each of the sum of the5
concentrations of La and Sm in the first subphase 21 and
the second subphase 22 may not satisfy the above
relationship. Therefore, more specifically, the
concentration of La in the main phase 10 indicates the
average of the concentrations of La in the first main phase10
11 and the second main phase 12, and the concentration of
Sm in the main phase 10 indicates the average of the
concentrations of Sm in the first main phase 11 and the
second main phase 12. In this case, the concentration of
La of the subphase 20, that is, the sum of the15
concentrations of La in the first subphase 21 and the
second subphase 22 means the average of the concentrations
of La in the first subphase 21 and the second subphase 22,
and the concentration of Sm of the subphase 20, that is,
the sum of the concentrations of Sm in the first subphase20
21 and the second subphase 22 means the average of the
concentrations of Sm in the first subphase 21 and the
second subphase 22.
[0046] La is present at a high concentration in the
grain boundary in the process of production, particularly25
in the heat treatment, whereby Nd and Pr are relatively
diffused throughout the main phase 10. As a result, in the
rare earth sintered magnet 1 according to the third
embodiment, Nd and Pr in the main phase 10 are not consumed
at the grain boundary, leading to improved30
magnetocrystalline anisotropy. Sm is also present at a
higher concentration in the subphase 20, particularly in
the first subphase 21, than in the main phase 10, whereby
24
Nd is relatively diffused throughout the main phase 10 as
in the case of La, resulting in improved magnetocrystalline
anisotropy.
[0047] As described in the second embodiment, since the
subphase 20 contains the heavy rare earth element, the5
first subphase 21 and the second subphase 22 contain the
heavy rare earth element, but in the third embodiment, the
distribution of the heavy rare earth element is different
between the first subphase 21 and the second subphase 22.
In the second subphase 22 having a lower Sm concentration10
than the first subphase 21, the heavy rare earth element is
uniformly distributed in the second subphase 22. On the
other hand, in the first subphase 21 forming the Sm
enrichment portion 41, the heavy rare earth element is not
uniformly distributed in the first subphase 21, but is15
selectively distributed between the outer contour of the
first subphase 21 and the Sm enrichment portion 41, that
is, in the inner peripheral portion of the outer contour of
the first subphase 21. Specifically, the heavy rare earth
element exists so as to selectively surround the outer20
contour of the Sm enrichment portion 41, which has a high
Sm concentration in the first subphase 21. From this, it
can be said that the first subphase 21 has the Sm
enrichment portion 41 and a heavy rare earth element
containing portion 32 in which the heavy rare earth element25
selectively surrounding the outer contour of the Sm
enrichment portion 41 exists. The outer contour of the
first subphase 21 is a boundary portion between the first
subphase 21 and the main phase 10.
[0048] Similarly to the second embodiment, the first30
subphase 21 and the second subphase 22 having a heavy rare
earth element is present between the main phase 10 and the
main phase 10. It can be considered that the heavy rare
25
earth element enters a part of the surface of the main
phase 10 in contact with the first subphase 21 and the
second subphase 22 having the heavy rare earth element.
That is, it is considered that the heavy rare earth element
does not enter the core portions 11c and 12c of the main5
phase 10, but enters a part of the shell portions 11s and
12s. Therefore, similarly to the first embodiment, it is
possible to prevent a decrease in residual magnetic flux
density while improving the coercive force of the rare
earth sintered magnet 1.10
[0049] FIGS. 4 and 5 are element maps obtained by
analyzing a cross section of a rare earth sintered magnet
according to the third embodiment with a field emission
electron probe microanalyzer (FE-EPMA). FIG. 4 is an
element map of Sm, and FIG. 5 is an element map of Tb. In15
these drawings, a state in which the subphase 20 exists
between the main phase 10 and the main phase 10 is
illustrated. The subphase 20 includes the first subphase
21 having the Sm enrichment portion 41 and the second
subphase 22 having a lower Sm concentration than the first20
subphase 21. In the second subphase 22, Tb which is a
heavy rare earth element is uniformly distributed as
described above. On the other hand, in the first subphase
21, the distribution of Tb is uneven. Referring to FIGS. 4
and 5, the heavy rare earth element containing portion 3225
is present so as to selectively surround the Sm enrichment
portion 41 having a high Sm concentration in the first
subphase 21. In addition, almost no heavy rare earth
element is present in the Sm enrichment portion 41.
Furthermore, the concentration of the heavy rare earth30
element selectively distributed around the Sm enrichment
portion 41 is higher than the concentration of the heavy
rare earth element entirely distributed inside the second
26
subphase 22.
[0050] Next, at which atomic sites of the tetragonal
R2Fe14B crystal structure La and Sm are substituted will be
described. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating atomic sites
in a tetragonal Nd2Fe14B crystal structure. Note that the5
crystal structure illustrated in FIG. 6 is described, in
one example, in FIG. 1 of Reference Literature 1 shown
below. The sites of substitution are determined from the
numerical value of the stabilization energy associated with
substitution computed using band calculation and molecular10
field approximation based on the Heisenberg model.
(Reference Literature 1): J. F. Herbst et al.,
“Relationships between crystal structure and magnetic
properties in Nd2Fe14B”, PHYSICAL REVIEW B. 1984, Vol. 29,
No. 7, p. 4176–4178.15
[0051] First, a method for calculating stabilization
energy in La will be described. The stabilization energy
in La can be computed as the energy difference between
(Nd7La1)Fe56B4+Nd and Nd8(Fe55La1)B4+Fe using Nd8Fe56B4 crystal
cells. The smaller the energy value, the more stable it is20
when the atom is substituted at that site. That is, La is
likely to be substituted at an atomic site having the
smallest energy among the atomic sites. This calculation
assumes that substituting La for the original atom does not
change the lattice constant in the tetragonal R2Fe14B25
crystal structure due to the difference in atomic radius.
Table 1 shows the stabilization energy of La at each
substitution site at various environmental temperatures.
[0052] [Table 1]
27
[0053] Table 1 indicates that stable substitution sites
for La are Nd (f) sites at temperatures of 1000K and
higher, and Fe (c) sites at temperatures of 293K and 500K.
As will be described later, the raw material of the rare5
earth sintered magnet 1 according to the third embodiment
is heated and melted at a temperature of 1000K or higher
and then rapidly cooled. Therefore, it is considered that
the raw material of the rare earth sintered magnet 1 is
maintained in a state of 1000K or higher, that is, 727°C or10
higher, and more preferably about 1300K, that is, 1027°C.
In this case, La is considered to be substituted at Nd (f)
sites or Nd (g) sites. Here, La is considered to be
preferentially substituted at energetically stable Nd (f)
sites, but may be substituted at Nd (g) sites having a15
small energy difference among the substitution sites for
La. This is why Nd (g) sites are also mentioned as a
candidate for the substitution sites for La.
28
[0054] Furthermore, when the rare earth sintered magnet
1 is produced with the production method described later,
the temperature is 1000K or higher at the time of
sintering, but the Fe (c) sites described in Table 1 are
held in an energetically stable temperature zone repeatedly5
through the primary aging step, the secondary aging step,
the tertiary aging step, the quaternary aging step, and the
cooling step. In other words, the substitution of La at Nd
sites of the main phase 10 is maintained in an unstable
energy state. That is, La is mainly substituted at Nd10
sites of the main phase 10 in the raw material stage of the
rare earth sintered magnet 1; however, in the rare earth
sintered magnet 1 produced with the production method
described later, by intentionally holding the Nd sites of
the main phase 10 repeatedly in a temperature range in an15
unstable energy state, a certain amount of La is
selectively released from the Nd sites of the main phase
10, and as a result, La is segregated in the subphase 20.
As a result, the main phase 10 promotes the formation of
the characteristic structure, namely the core-shell20
structure.
[0055] Next, a method for calculating stabilization
energy in Sm will be described. The stabilization energy
of Sm can be computed as the energy difference between
(Nd7Sm1)Fe56B4+Nd and Nd8(Fe55Sm1)B4+Fe. Similarly to the25
case of La, atomic substitution does not change the lattice
constant in the tetragonal R2Fe14B crystal structure. Table
2 shows the stabilization energy of Sm at each substitution
site at various environmental temperatures.
[0056] [Table 2]30
29
[0057] Table 2 indicates that stable substitution sites
for Sm are Nd (g) sites at any temperature, unlike in the
case of La. Sm is also considered to be preferentially
substituted at energetically stable Nd (g) sites, but may5
be substituted at Nd (f) sites having a small energy
difference among the substitution sites for Sm.
[0058] When the rare earth sintered magnet 1 is produced
with the production method described later, substitution at
Nd (g) sites of the main phase 10 is most stable in terms10
of energy. However, as described above, holding in a
temperature range where the substitution of La at Nd sites
of the main phase 10 is unstable causes a part of Sm to be
released from the Nd sites of the main phase 10 together
with La and segregated in the subphase 20. As a result,15
the concentrations of La and Sm differ between the main
phase 10 and the subphase 20: the sum of the concentrations
30
of La in the first subphase 21 and the second subphase 22
is equal to or greater than the concentration of La in the
main phase 10, and the sum of the concentrations of Sm in
the first subphase 21 and the second subphase 22 is equal
to or greater than the concentration of Sm in the main5
phase 10. More specifically, the average of the
concentrations of La in the first subphase 21 and the
second subphase 22 is equal to or greater than the average
of the concentrations of La in the first main phase 11 and
the second main phase 12, and the average of the10
concentrations of Sm in the first subphase 21 and the
second subphase 22 is equal to or greater than the average
of the concentrations of Sm in the first main phase 11 and
the second main phase 12. That is, La and Sm can be said
to be segregated in the subphase 20.15
[0059] Comparing La and Sm, La held in a temperature
range in an unstable energy state is overwhelmingly more
likely to be segregated in the subphase 20 from the
viewpoint of energy. As a result, in the case of the rare
earth sintered magnet 1 prepared with almost the same20
concentrations of La and Sm, comparing La and Sm present in
the rare earth sintered magnet 1, La has a larger
segregation ratio to the subphase 20. By being held
repeatedly in this temperature region, the subphase 20
produces a concentration difference in Sm that has a small25
segregation ratio, and the first subphase 21 and the second
subphase 22 are formed. This promotes the formation of the
core-shell structure in the main phase 10.
[0060] Here, Nd is representatively described as
illustrated in FIG. 6, but Nd and Pr are produced as a30
mixture as represented by didymium (Di), and thus it is
considered that the energy levels of Nd and Pr are close to
each other. Therefore, the same applies to a case where Nd
31
is replaced with Pr. As the two types of Nd and Pr are
present, the main phase 10 having two types of core-shell
structures can be formed.
[0061] As described above, the rare earth sintered
magnet 1 according to the third embodiment includes the5
main phase 10 that satisfies a general formula (Nd, Pr, R)-
Fe-B, where R is one or more rare earth elements selected
excluding Nd and Pr, the main phase 10 containing crystal
grains based on an Nd2Fe14B crystal structure, wherein the
main phase 10 includes core portions 11c and 12c and shell10
portions 11s and 12s covering the core portions 11c and
12c, and given R=La and/or Sm, the rare earth sintered
magnet 1 includes the subphase 20 in addition to the first
main phase 11 and the second main phase 12 described in the
first embodiment. The subphase 20 includes the crystalline15
first subphase 21 having a main component based on an oxide
phase represented by (Nd, Pr, La, Sm)-O and the crystalline
second subphase 22 having a main component represented by
(Nd, Pr, La)-O, and the concentration of Sm is higher in
the first subphase 21 than in the second subphase 22. That20
is, the two types of main phases 10 and the two types of
subphases 20 exist. As a result, it is possible to provide
the rare earth sintered magnet 1 having excellent magnetic
properties, such as temperature properties of magnetic
properties, as compared with the related art. In addition,25
by setting R to La and Sm, the main phase 10 is in a state
in which the first main phase 11 that satisfies CNd>CPr and
the second main phase 12 that satisfies CNd
In the coating diffusion method, the grain boundary
diffusion step includes a diffusion element adhesion step
40
of adhering a heavy rare earth element supply portion which
is a material containing a heavy rare earth element and
serves as a supply source of the heavy rare earth element
to the diffusion precursor, and a diffusion heat treatment
step of performing heat treatment for diffusing the heavy5
rare earth element from the heavy rare earth element supply
portion to the diffusion precursor. In the diffusion
element adhesion step, a slurry obtained by mixing a
powdery heavy rare earth element mixture with water, an
organic solvent, or the like is adhered to the surface of10
the diffusion precursor. The slurry adhered to the surface
of the diffusion precursor becomes a heavy rare earth
element supply portion. The adhesion of the slurry can be
performed by spray spraying, dip coating, spin coating,
screen printing, electrodeposition, or the like. In the15
diffusion heat treatment step, the diffusion precursor to
which the heavy rare earth element supply portion is
adhered is subjected to heat treatment at a diffusion
temperature lower than the sintering temperature in the
sintering step S23 to diffuse the heavy rare earth element20
into the diffusion precursor. Conditions for the heat
treatment are a diffusion temperature lower than the
sintering temperature and a time within the range of 0.1
hours to 100 hours. The diffusion temperature is, for
example, a temperature in the range of 300°C to 1000°C,25
which is lower than the sintering temperature. The heat
treatment is preferably performed in an atmosphere
containing an inert gas or in a vacuum in order to prevent
oxidation.
[0082] 30
Also in the sputtering diffusion method, similarly to
the coating diffusion method, the grain boundary diffusion
step includes a diffusion element adhesion step and a
41
diffusion heat treatment step. In the diffusion element
adhesion step, a thin film having a simple metal or alloy
composition of a heavy rare earth element is formed on the
surface of the diffusion precursor under a dry environment.
The thin film formed on the surface of the diffusion5
precursor becomes a heavy rare earth element supply
portion. The thin film is formed by, for example, a
sputtering method. In the diffusion heat treatment step,
the diffusion precursor in which the heavy rare earth
element supply portion is formed is subjected to heat10
treatment at a diffusion temperature lower than the
sintering temperature in the sintering step S23 to diffuse
the heavy rare earth element into the diffusion precursor.
Conditions for the heat treatment are a diffusion
temperature lower than the sintering temperature and a time15
within the range of 0.1 hours to 100 hours. The diffusion
temperature is, for example, a temperature in the range of
300°C to 1000°C, which is lower than the sintering
temperature. The heat treatment is preferably performed in
an atmosphere containing an inert gas or in a vacuum in20
order to prevent oxidation.
[0083]
In the vapor diffusion method, a diffusion precursor
and a heavy rare earth element supply source are placed in
a vacuum furnace, and then the diffusion precursor is25
subjected to a heat treatment at a temperature lower than
the sintering temperature in the sintering step S23 in the
vacuum furnace to diffuse the heavy rare earth element into
the diffusion precursor. In the heat treatment, the heavy
rare earth element supply source is turned into a gas phase30
by vacuum heating, and the heavy rare earth element is
supplied to the diffusion precursor via the gas phase.
Conditions for the heat treatment are a diffusion
42
temperature lower than the sintering temperature and a time
within the range of 0.1 hours to 100 hours. The diffusion
temperature is, for example, a temperature in the range of
600°C to 900°C, which is lower than the sintering
temperature. Further, in the vapor diffusion method,5
unlike the coating diffusion method and the sputtering
diffusion method, it is not necessary to adhere the heavy
rare earth element supply portion to the diffusion
precursor, and the diffusion element adhesion step can be
omitted, so that the time of the grain boundary diffusion10
step can be shortened.
[0084] Returning to FIG. 7, in the final cooling step
S40, the diffusion precursor into which the heavy rare
earth element has been diffused in the grain boundary
diffusion step is held at a temperature lower than 200°C15
for 0.1 to 5 hours. Thereafter, the diffusion precursor is
cooled to room temperature, whereby the rare earth sintered
magnet 1 described in the first to third embodiments is
formed. In the case of the first embodiment, the rare
earth sintered magnet 1 in which the heavy rare earth20
element is present on at least a part of the surface of the
main phase 10 is formed, in the case of the second
embodiment, the rare earth sintered magnet 1 in which the
heavy rare earth element is diffused into the subphase 20
is formed, and in the case of the third embodiment, the25
rare earth sintered magnet 1 is formed in which the heavy
rare earth element is diffused so as to selectively
surround the outer contour of the Sm enrichment portion 41
of the first subphase 21, and is uniformly diffused into
the second subphase 22. The cooling is preferably30
performed in an atmosphere containing an inert gas or in a
vacuum in order to prevent oxidation.
[0085] As described above, the rare earth sintered
43
magnet 1 having a desired shape is obtained by grain
boundary diffusion of the heavy rare earth element into the
diffusion precursor having the final shape of the rare
earth sintered magnet 1.
[0086] As described above, by controlling the5
temperature and time in the sintering step, the aging step,
and the sintered body cooling step, the sintered body is
repeatedly held in a temperature range in an unstable
energy state. As a result, the first main phase 11
consisting of CNd>CPr and the second main phase 1210
consisting of CNdCPr and the second main30
phase 12 consisting of CNdCPr and the second
main phase 12 that satisfies CNdCPr and the
second main phase 12 that satisfies CNdCPr and the second main phase 12 that
satisfies CNdCPr is larger than the number of second main phases 12
that are CNdSNd and CPrSPr.
[0118] Next, the results of measurement of the magnetic
properties in each sample according to Examples 1 to 8 and10
Comparative Examples 1 to 12 will be described. The shape
of each sample that is the subject of magnetic measurement
is a block shape having a length, a width, and a height of
7 mm. The first measurement temperature T1 is 23°C, and
the second measurement temperature T2 is 200°C. 23°C is15
room temperature. 200°C of the second measurement
temperature T2 is a temperature that can occur as an
environment in which automobile motors and industrial
motors operate.
[0119] First, the residual magnetic flux density and the20
coercive force in each sample according to Examples 1 to 8
and Comparative Examples 2 to 12 are determined in
comparison with Comparative Example 1. When the values of
the residual magnetic flux density and the coercive force
of each sample at 23°C are within an allowable measurement25
error of 1% compared with the values of Comparative Example
1, the values are rated as “equivalent”. Values of 1% or
more higher are rated as “good”, and values of 1% or more
lower are rated as “poor”.
[0120] Next, the temperature coefficient α of residual30
magnetic flux density is calculated using the residual
magnetic flux density at the first measurement temperature
T1 of 23°C and the residual magnetic flux density at the
59
second measurement temperature T2 of 200°C. The
temperature coefficient β of coercive force is calculated
using the coercive force at the first measurement
temperature T1 of 23°C and the coercive force at the second
measurement temperature T2 of 200°C. The temperature5
coefficient of residual magnetic flux density and the
temperature coefficient of coercive force in each sample
according to Examples 1 to 8 and Comparative Examples 2 to
12 are determined in comparison with Comparative Example 1.
When the values of each sample are within an allowable10
measurement error of ±1% compared with the absolute value
|α| of the temperature coefficient of residual magnetic
flux density and the absolute value |β| of the temperature
coefficient of coercive force in the sample of Comparative
Example 1, the values are rated as “equivalent”. Values of15
−1% or more lower are rated as “good”, and values of +1% or
more higher are rated as “poor”. Because the samples
determined to be “good” have a smaller temperature
coefficient, it is possible to provide the rare earth
sintered magnet 1 having stable magnetic properties even in20
a high temperature environment while preventing degradation
of magnetic properties associated with temperature rise.
[0121] The results of determination of the residual
magnetic flux density, the coercive force, the temperature
coefficient of residual magnetic flux density and the25
temperature coefficient of coercive force are shown in
Table 3.
[0122] Comparative Example 1 is a sample of the rare
earth sintered magnet 1 in which 0.15at.% Dy is diffused,
which is prepared in the form of Nd-Fe-B with the30
production method described in Patent Literature 1 using
Nd, Fe, and FeB as raw materials. From the observation of
the structure form of this sample with the method described
60
above, due to the absence of Pr, La, and Sm, no core-shell
structure is confirmed in the main phase 10, and it is not
confirmed that the concentration of Sm in the subphase 20
is higher in the first subphase 21 than in the second
subphase 22. The evaluation of the magnetic properties of5
this sample with the method described above shows that the
residual magnetic flux density is 1.3 T and the coercive
force is 1250 kA/m. The temperature coefficients of
residual magnetic flux density and coercive force are
|α|=0.191 %/°C and |β|=0.460 %/°C, respectively. These10
values of Comparative Example 1 are used as a reference.
[0123] Comparative Example 2 is a sample of the rare
earth sintered magnet 1 in which 0.15at.% Dy is diffused,
which is prepared in the form of (Nd,Dy)-Fe-B with the
production method described in Patent Literature 1 using15
Nd, Dy, Fe, and FeB as raw materials. From the observation
of the structure form of this sample with the method
described above, due to the absence of Pr, La, and Sm, no
core-shell structure is confirmed in the main phase 10, and
it is not confirmed that the concentration of Sm in the20
subphase 20 is higher in the first subphase 21 than in the
second subphase 22. The evaluation of the magnetic
properties of this sample with the method described above
shows that the residual magnetic flux density is “poor”,
the coercive force is “good”, the temperature coefficient25
of residual magnetic flux density is “equivalent”, and the
temperature coefficient of coercive force is “equivalent”.
This result reflects the fact that the coercive force is
improved by substituting Dy having high magnetocrystalline
anisotropy for a part of Nd. In addition, since the30
magnetic properties depend on the structure of the
diffusion precursor as a base material, diffusing Dy as a
heavy rare earth element into such a diffusion precursor
61
does not improve the magnetic properties.
[0124] Comparative Example 3 is a sample of the rare
earth sintered magnet 1 in which 0.15at.% Dy is diffused,
which is prepared in the form of (Nd,Pr)-Fe-B with the
production method described in Patent Literature 1 using5
Nd, Pr, Fe, and FeB as raw materials. From the observation
of the structure form of this sample with the method
described above, the main phase 10 in which Nd and Pr are
provided mixedly is confirmed due to the addition of Pr,
but a core-shell structure is not formed. In addition, due10
to the absence of La and Sm, it is also not confirmed that
the concentration of Sm in the subphase 20 is higher in the
first subphase 21 than in the second subphase 22. The
evaluation of the magnetic properties of this sample with
the method described above shows that the residual magnetic15
flux density is “equivalent”, the coercive force is “good”,
the temperature coefficient of residual magnetic flux
density is “equivalent”, and the temperature coefficient of
coercive force is “poor”. This result reflects the fact
that the magnetic anisotropy of the main phase 10 is20
increased and the coercive force is improved by the
addition of Pr, but the structure form is not optimal in
the main phase 10 and the subphase 20. In addition, since
the magnetic properties depend on the structure of the
diffusion precursor as a base material, diffusing Dy as a25
heavy rare earth element into such a diffusion precursor
does not improve the magnetic properties.
[0125] Comparative Example 4 is a sample of the rare
earth sintered magnet 1 in which 0.15at.% Dy is diffused,
which is prepared in the form of (Nd, La, Sm)-Fe-B with the30
production method described in Patent Literature 1 using
Nd, La, Sm, Fe, and FeB as raw materials. From the
observation of the structure form of this sample with the
62
method described above, no core-shell structure is
confirmed in the main phase 10 due to the absence of Pr.
In addition, due to the addition of La and Sm, the
concentration of Sm is segregated in one subphase 20 along
with the segregation of La, but the second subphase 22 does5
not exist. Furthermore, it is also not confirmed that the
concentration of Sm is higher in the first subphase 21 than
in the second subphase 22. The evaluation of the magnetic
properties of this sample with the method described above
shows that the residual magnetic flux density is10
“equivalent”, the coercive force is “equivalent”, the
temperature coefficient of residual magnetic flux density
is “good”, and the temperature coefficient of coercive
force is “good”. This result reflects the fact that the
presence of La and Sm in the main phase 10 or the subphase15
20 gives a good result in the temperature coefficient of
the magnetic properties, but the magnetic properties at
room temperature are not improved, and the structure form
is not optimal in the main phase 10 and the subphase 20.
In addition, since the magnetic properties depend on the20
structure of the diffusion precursor as a base material,
diffusing Dy as a heavy rare earth element into such a
diffusion precursor does not improve the magnetic
properties.
[0126] Comparative Example 5 is a sample of the rare25
earth sintered magnet 1 in which 0.15at.% Dy is diffused,
which is prepared in the form of (Nd, La, Sm)-Fe-B with the
production method described in Patent Literature 1 using
Nd, La, Sm, Fe, and FeB as raw materials. The composition
ratio of Nd, La, and Sm is different from that of30
Comparative Example 4. From the observation of the
structure form of this sample with the method described
above, no core-shell structure is confirmed in the main
63
phase 10 due to the absence of Pr. In addition, due to the
addition of La and Sm, the concentration of Sm is
segregated in one subphase 20 along with the segregation of
La, but the second subphase 22 does not exist.
Furthermore, it is also not confirmed that the5
concentration of Sm is higher in the first subphase 21 than
in the second subphase 22. The evaluation of the magnetic
properties of this sample with the method described above
shows that the residual magnetic flux density is
“equivalent”, the coercive force is “equivalent”, the10
temperature coefficient of residual magnetic flux density
is “good”, and the temperature coefficient of coercive
force is “good”. This result reflects the fact that the
presence of La and Sm in the main phase 10 or the subphase
20 gives a good result in the temperature coefficient of15
the magnetic properties, but the magnetic properties at
room temperature are not improved, and the structure form
is not optimal in the main phase 10 and the subphase 20:
the change in the composition ratio of Nd, La, Sm results
in almost the same result as in Comparative Example 4. In20
addition, since the magnetic properties depend on the
structure of the diffusion precursor as a base material,
diffusing Dy as a heavy rare earth element into such a
diffusion precursor does not improve the magnetic
properties.25
[0127] Comparative Example 6 is a sample of the rare
earth sintered magnet 1 in which 0.15at.% Dy is diffused,
which is prepared in the form of (Nd, Pr, La, Sm)-Fe-B with
the production method described in Patent Literature 1
using Nd, Pr, La, Sm, Fe, and FeB as raw materials. From30
the observation of the structure form of this sample with
the method described above, the main phase 10 in which Nd
and Pr are provided mixedly is confirmed due to the
64
addition of Pr, but a core-shell structure is not formed.
In addition, due to the addition of La and Sm, the
concentration of Sm is segregated in one subphase 20 along
with the segregation of La, but the second subphase 22 does
not exist. Furthermore, it is also not confirmed that the5
concentration of Sm is higher in the first subphase 21 than
in the second subphase 22. The evaluation of the magnetic
properties of this sample with the method described above
shows that the residual magnetic flux density is
“equivalent”, the coercive force is “good”, the temperature10
coefficient of residual magnetic flux density is “good”,
and the temperature coefficient of coercive force is
“equivalent”. This result reflects the fact that the
addition of Pr increases the magnetic anisotropy of the
main phase 10 to improve the coercive force, and the15
presence of La and Sm in the main phase 10 or the subphase
20 improves the temperature coefficient of the magnetic
properties, particularly the temperature coefficient of the
coercive force, but the structure form is not optimal in
the main phase 10 and the subphase 20. In addition, since20
the magnetic properties depend on the structure of the
diffusion precursor as a base material, diffusing Dy as a
heavy rare earth element into such a diffusion precursor
does not improve the magnetic properties.
[0128] Comparative Example 7 is a sample of the rare25
earth sintered magnet 1 in which 0.15at.% Dy is diffused,
which is prepared in the form of Nd-Fe-B with the
production method including the hot working method
described in Patent Literature 2 using Nd, Fe, and FeB as
raw materials. From the observation of the structure form30
of this sample with the method described above, due to the
absence of Pr, La, and Sm, no core-shell structure is
confirmed in the main phase 10, and it is not confirmed
65
that the concentration of Sm in the subphase 20 is higher
in the first subphase 21 than in the second subphase 22.
However, the refinement of the structure, which is a
characteristic of a magnet produced with the hot working
method, is confirmed. The evaluation of the magnetic5
properties of this sample with the method described above
shows that the residual magnetic flux density is “poor”,
the coercive force is “good”, the temperature coefficient
of residual magnetic flux density is “equivalent”, and the
temperature coefficient of coercive force is “equivalent”.10
This result reflects the decrease in residual magnetic flux
density despite the improvement of the coercive force
associated with the refinement of the structure through the
hot working method. In addition, since the magnetic
properties depend on the structure of the diffusion15
precursor as a base material, diffusing Dy as a heavy rare
earth element into such a diffusion precursor does not
improve the magnetic properties.
[0129] Comparative Example 8 is a sample of the rare
earth sintered magnet 1 in which 0.15at.% Dy is diffused,20
which is prepared in the form of (Nd, Dy)-Fe-B with the
production method including the hot working method
described in Patent Literature 2 using Nd, Dy, Fe, and FeB
as raw materials. From the observation of the structure
form of this sample with the method described above, due to25
the absence of Pr, La, and Sm, no core-shell structure is
confirmed in the main phase 10, and it is not confirmed
that the concentration of Sm in the subphase 20 is higher
in the first subphase 21 than in the second subphase 22.
The evaluation of the magnetic properties of this sample30
with the method described above shows that the residual
magnetic flux density is “poor”, the coercive force is
“good”, the temperature coefficient of residual magnetic
66
flux density is “equivalent”, and the temperature
coefficient of coercive force is “equivalent”. This
indicates that the coercive force is significantly improved
by the substitution of Dy having high magnetocrystalline
anisotropy for a part of Nd in addition to the manufacture5
with hot working, but the other properties reflect the
structure refinement. In addition, since the magnetic
properties depend on the structure of the diffusion
precursor as a base material, diffusing Dy as a heavy rare
earth element into such a diffusion precursor does not10
improve the magnetic properties.
[0130] Comparative Example 9 is a sample of the rare
earth sintered magnet 1 in which 0.15at.% Dy is diffused,
which is prepared in the form of (Nd, Pr)-Fe-B with the
production method including the hot working method15
described in Patent Literature 2 using Nd, Pr, Fe, and FeB
as raw materials. From the observation of the structure
form of this sample with the method described above, the
core-shell structure is confirmed through hot working in
addition to the addition of Pr, but there is only one type20
of main phase 10 having a high Pr concentration in the core
portion. In addition, due to the absence of La and Sm, it
is also not confirmed that the concentration of Sm in the
subphase 20 is higher in the first subphase 21 than in the
second subphase 22. The evaluation of the magnetic25
properties of this sample with the method described above
shows that the residual magnetic flux density is “poor”,
the coercive force is “good”, the temperature coefficient
of residual magnetic flux density is “equivalent”, and the
temperature coefficient of coercive force is “equivalent”.30
This indicates that the coercive force is significantly
improved to the level of the rare earth sintered magnet 1
containing Dy due to the formation of the core-shell
67
structure having a high Pr concentration in the core
portion, but the other properties reflect the structure
refinement. In addition, since the magnetic properties
depend on the structure of the diffusion precursor as a
base material, diffusing Dy as a heavy rare earth element5
into such a diffusion precursor does not improve the
magnetic properties.
[0131] Comparative Example 10 is a sample of the rare
earth sintered magnet 1 in which 0.15at.% Dy is diffused,
which is prepared in the form of (Nd, La, Sm)-Fe-B with the10
production method including the hot working method
described in Patent Literature 2 using Nd, La, Sm, Fe, and
FeB as raw materials. From the observation of the
structure form of this sample with the method described
above, no core-shell structure is confirmed in the main15
phase 10 due to the absence of Pr. In addition, due to the
addition of La and Sm, the concentration of Sm is
segregated in one subphase 20 along with the segregation of
La, but the second subphase 22 does not exist.
Furthermore, it is also not confirmed that the20
concentration of Sm is higher in the first subphase 21 than
in the second subphase 22. The evaluation of the magnetic
properties of this sample with the method described above
shows that the residual magnetic flux density is “poor”,
the coercive force is “good”, the temperature coefficient25
of residual magnetic flux density is “good”, and the
temperature coefficient of coercive force is “good”. This
result reflects the fact that the presence of La and Sm in
the main phase 10 or the subphase 20 gives a good result in
the temperature coefficient of the magnetic properties, but30
the residual magnetic flux density at room temperature is
not improved, and the structure form is not optimal in the
main phase 10 and the subphase 20. In addition, since the
68
magnetic properties depend on the structure of the
diffusion precursor as a base material, diffusing Dy as a
heavy rare earth element into such a diffusion precursor
does not improve the magnetic properties.
[0132] Comparative Example 11 is a sample of the rare5
earth sintered magnet 1 in which 0.15at.% Dy is diffused,
which is prepared in the form of (Nd, La, Sm)-Fe-B with the
production method including the hot working method
described in Patent Literature 2 using Nd, La, Sm, Fe, and
FeB as raw materials. The composition ratio of Nd, La, and10
Sm is different from that of Comparative Example 10. From
the observation of the structure form of this sample with
the method described above, no core-shell structure is
confirmed in the main phase 10 due to the absence of Pr.
In addition, due to the addition of La and Sm, the15
concentration of Sm is segregated in one subphase 20 along
with the segregation of La, but the second subphase 22 does
not exist. Furthermore, it is also not confirmed that the
concentration of Sm is higher in the first subphase 21 than
in the second subphase 22. The evaluation of the magnetic20
properties of this sample with the method described above
shows that the residual magnetic flux density is “poor”,
the coercive force is “good”, the temperature coefficient
of residual magnetic flux density is “good”, and the
temperature coefficient of coercive force is “good”. This25
result reflects the fact that the presence of La and Sm in
the main phase 10 or the subphase 20 gives a good result in
the temperature coefficient of the magnetic properties, but
the residual magnetic flux density at room temperature is
not improved, and the structure form is not optimal in the30
main phase 10 and the subphase 20. The change in the
composition ratio of Nd, La, Sm results in almost the same
result as in Comparative Example 10. In addition, since
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the magnetic properties depend on the structure of the
diffusion precursor as a base material, diffusing Dy as a
heavy rare earth element into such a diffusion precursor
does not improve the magnetic properties.
[0133] Comparative Example 12 is a sample of the rare5
earth sintered magnet 1 in which 0.15at.% Dy is diffused,
which is prepared in the form of (Nd, Pr, La, Sm)-Fe-B with
the production method including the hot working method
described in Patent Literature 2 using Nd, Pr, La, Sm, Fe,
and FeB as raw materials. From the observation of the10
structure form of this sample with the method described
above, the core-shell structure is confirmed through hot
working in addition to the addition of Pr, but there is
only one type of main phase 10 having a high Pr
concentration in the core portion. In addition, due to the15
addition of La and Sm, the concentration of Sm is
segregated in one subphase 20 along with the segregation of
La, but the second subphase 22 does not exist.
Furthermore, it is also not confirmed that the
concentration of Sm is higher in the first subphase 21 than20
in the second subphase 22. The evaluation of the magnetic
properties of this sample with the method described above
shows that the residual magnetic flux density is “poor”,
the coercive force is “good”, the temperature coefficient
of residual magnetic flux density is “good”, and the25
temperature coefficient of coercive force is “good”. This
indicates that the coercive force is significantly improved
to the level of the rare earth sintered magnet 1 containing
Dy due to the formation of the core-shell structure having
a high Pr concentration in the core portion, and the30
presence of La and Sm in the main phase 10 or the subphase
20 improves the temperature coefficient of the magnetic
properties, particularly the temperature coefficient of the
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coercive force. However, the result also reflects the fact
that the residual magnetic flux density at room temperature
is not improved, and the structure form is not optimal in
the main phase 10 and the subphase 20. In addition, since
the magnetic properties depend on the structure of the5
diffusion precursor as a base material, diffusing Dy as a
heavy rare earth element into such a diffusion precursor
does not improve the magnetic properties.
[0134] The samples of Examples 1 to 8 are the rare earth
sintered magnet 1 including the main phase 10 that10
satisfies a general formula (Nd, Pr, R)-Fe-B, where R is
one or more rare earth elements selected excluding Nd and
Pr, the main phase 10 containing crystal grains based on an
Nd2Fe14B crystal structure, wherein the main phase 10
includes the core portions 11c and 12c and the shell15
portions 11s and 12s covering the core portions 11c and
12c, the main phase 10 includes the first main phase 11
that satisfies CNd>CPr and the second main phase 12 that
satisfies CNdCPr and a second main phase that satisfies
CNdCPr and a second main phase that satisfies
CNdSNd and CPrSPr, where SNd is concentration of Nd in the shell
portion and SPr is concentration of Pr in the shell
portion.15
[Claim 5] The rare earth sintered magnet according to claim
1, wherein
given that R is La and/or Sm, the subphase includes a
first subphase that is crystalline and has a main component20
based on an oxide phase represented by (Nd, Pr, La, Sm)-O,
and a second subphase that is crystalline and has a main
component represented by (Nd, Pr, La)-O, and
concentration of Sm is higher in the first subphase
than in the second subphase.25
[Claim 6] The rare earth sintered magnet according to claim
2, wherein
given that R is La and/or Sm, the subphase includes a
first subphase that is crystalline and has a main component30
based on an oxide phase represented by (Nd, Pr, La, Sm)-O,
and a second subphase that is crystalline and has a main
component represented by (Nd, Pr, La)-O, and
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the first subphase forms an Sm enrichment portion
having a higher concentration of Sm than the second
subphase.
[Claim 7] The rare earth sintered magnet according to claim5
6, wherein the heavy rare earth element is present so as to
surround an outer contour of the Sm enrichment portion in
the first subphase.
[Claim 8] A method for producing the rare earth sintered10
magnet according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the method
comprising:
a rare earth sintered magnet alloy production step of
producing a rare earth sintered magnet alloy to be a raw
material of a diffusion precursor before the heavy rare15
earth element is diffused into the rare earth sintered
magnet;
a diffusion precursor production step of producing the
diffusion precursor;
a diffusion step of diffusing the heavy rare earth20
element into the diffusion precursor; and
a cooling step of cooling the diffusion precursor in
which the heavy rare earth element is diffused, wherein
the rare earth sintered magnet alloy production step
includes:25
a melting step of melting a raw material of a rare
earth sintered magnet alloy containing an element
constituting the diffusion precursor;
a primary alloy cooling step of cooling the raw
material molten in the melting step to obtain a solidified30
alloy; and
a secondary alloy cooling step of further cooling the
solidified alloy to obtain a rare earth sintered magnet
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alloy,
the diffusion precursor production step includes:
a pulverizing step of pulverizing the rare earth
sintered magnet alloy satisfying (Nd, Pr, R)-Fe-B;
a molding step of preparing a molded body by molding5
powder of the rare earth sintered magnet alloy pulverized
in the pulverizing step;
a sintering step of obtaining a sintered body by
sintering the molded body at a sintering temperature that
is a predetermined temperature;10
a primary aging step of holding the sintered body at a
primary aging temperature that is a temperature lower than
the sintering temperature;
a secondary aging step of holding the sintered body
held in the primary aging step at a secondary aging15
temperature that is a temperature lower than the primary
aging temperature;
a tertiary aging step of holding the sintered body
held in the secondary aging step again at the primary aging
temperature;20
a quaternary aging step of holding the sintered body
held in the tertiary aging step again at the secondary
aging temperature; and
a sintered body cooling step of cooling the sintered
body held in the quaternary aging step to obtain the25
diffusion precursor, and
in the diffusion step, the diffusion precursor is
subjected to heat treatment at a temperature lower than the
sintering temperature under a condition that the diffusion
precursor and the heavy rare earth element are present.30
[Claim 9] A rotor comprising:
a rotor core; and
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the rare earth sintered magnet according to any one of
claims 1 to 7 provided in the rotor core.
[Claim 10] A rotary machine comprising:
the rotor according to claim 9; and5
an annular stator facing the rotor and including, on
an inner surface on a side where the rotor is placed,
windings provided on teeth protruding toward the rotor.