Abstract
We investigate the microstructural and magnetic property changes of $DyH_2$, $Cu+DyH_2$, and $Al+DyH_2$ diffusion-treated NdFeB sintered magnets with the post annealing (PA) temperature. The coercivity of all the diffusion-treated magnets increases with increasing heat treatment temperature except at $910^{\circ}C$, where it decreases slightly. Moreover, at $880^{\circ}C$, the coercivity increases by 3.8 kOe in Cu and 4.7 kOe in Al-mixed $DyH_2$-coated magnets, whereas this increase is relatively low (3.0 kOe) in the magnet coated with only $DyH_2$. Both Cu and Al have an almost similar effect on the coercivity improvement, particularly over the heat treatment temperature range of $790-880^{\circ}C$. The diffusivity and diffusion depth of Dy increases in those magnets that are treated with Cu or Al-mixed $DyH_2$, mainly because of the comparatively easy diffusion path provided by Cu and Al owing to their solubility in the Nd-rich grain boundary phase. The formation of a highly anisotropic $(Nd,\;Dy)_2Fe_{14}B$ phase layer, which acts as the shell in the core-shell-type structure so as to prevent the reverse domain movement, is the cause of enhanced coercivity of diffusion-treated Nd-Fe-B magnets.
