Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 254–255 (2003) 391–398

Sintered soft magnetic materials. Properties and applications

J.A. Bas*, J.A. Calero, M.J. Dougan
Aleaciones de Metales Sinterizados S.A. (AMES), Pol!ıgono Industrial ‘‘Les Fallulles’’, Ctra. Nacional 340, Km 1.242,
Sant Vicenc- dels Horts, Barcelona 08620, Spain

Abstract

A comparison is presented of the characteristics and production requirements of a variety of materials used to
produce sintered soft magnetic parts. These include pure iron, phosphorous–iron, silicon–iron, nickel–iron, and cobalt–
iron, together with new coated materials based on encapsulated iron powders. In these bonded materials an organic
and/or inorganic insulator is used to coat the metallic powder particles giving a magnetic composite. The suitability of
the different materials for use in both direct and alternating current applications is reviewed, and examples are provided
of their application in both the automotive and other sectors. The results of a comparative study of motors using stators
and rotors based on both conventional laminated materials and the insulated iron powders are presented, in which the
new materials show advantages of reduced hysteresis losses at high frequencies, and isotropy of magnetic properties.
Nevertheless, the applications of these materials in electrical motors requires the modification of existing designs.
r 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Powder metallurgy; Soft magnetic materials

1. Introduction 2. Magnetic properties and their importance for different

applications
This paper reviews the use of powder metallurgy (PM)
soft magnetic materials for applications in the auto- The magnetic properties of a material are usually
motive and other industries. The materials considered characterised by a DC hysterisis loop, which gives the
here are categorised as first or second generation. First behaviour of a material when excited by an external
generation PM materials include pure iron, phosphor- magnetic field. Fig. 1 shows a typical hysteresis loop for
ous iron, silicon iron, nickel iron, cobalt iron, and a ferromagnetic material.
stainless steel, and are mainly suitable for direct current The initially demagnetised sample material (point O in
(DC) applications. Components produced from these Fig. 1) is subjected to a positive external magnetic field
materials are typically manufactured via two process of strength H; inducing an internal magnetic field of
routes: normal density technology (NDT) or high- strength B: The applied field is gradually increased,
density technology (HDT). Second generation materials giving the first magnetisation curve (line OC in Fig. 1),
include the recently developed insulated soft magnetic with an initial permeability (mi ). The slope of this curve
powders, as well as others still under development such gives the maximum permeability (mmax ). When no
as amorphous and nanocrystalline materials. Some further increase in magnetic induction or magnetisation
typical examples of components produced from the first is achieved by increasing the applied magnetic field
generation materials are presented, together with a (point C), the material is said to be saturated. This is the
consideration of the potential of the second generation point of maximum or saturation induction (Bmax ). If the
materials. applied magnetic field is then gradually reduced to zero,
two phenomena are observed. The first is that the
decrease in the internal field takes place along a different
*Corresponding author. curve. The second is that there remains a field of

0304-8853/03/$ - see front matter r 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
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392 J.A. Bas et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 254–255 (2003) 391–398

previously, porosity can increase hysteresis losses by

restricting the movement of magnetic domains. This
means that in order to improve magnetic properties it is
necessary to increase material density and hence, for
more critical applications, HDT processes can be
used. This technology involves successive compacting
steps at pressures which can exceed 800 MPa (similar
to forging). High sintering temperatures (1250–
13001C) are used, and since even small quantities
of C or N can severely degrade magnetic properties,
high-purity atmospheres are required to maintain C, O,
and N levels very low (around 200 ppm). With this
technology densities of 95–98% of the wrought material
can be achieved, and consequently magnetic and
Fig. 1. A typical DC hysteresis loop. mechanical properties are very similar to the wrought
levels.
For parts with complicated shapes, final machining
strength Br in the material. This is referred to as operations are frequently necessary. This can have
remanence. This remaining flux density can be cancelled particular significance for soft magnetic materials, since
by applying a negative magnetic field, at which point the the mechanical work applied to the part will produce
applied field is called the coercive force (HC ). By dislocations and stress fields at the part surface, with the
progressively increasing the applied field in the negative depth of penetration depending upon the severity of
range, the material once again reaches saturation (point the machining operation. This deformation will increase
D). If this cycle of applied field is then reversed, the the coercive force and remanence and raise the level of
hysteresis loop is closed (line DC). hysteresis losses, with high-permeability materials such
The area of the B–H loop shown in Fig. 1 represents as Fe–Si and Fe–Ni being particularly sensitive. It is
the work done to change the magnetisation of the therefore necessary to anneal the component after
material, or the hysteresis losses: the larger the loop, the machining in order to relax internal stresses and remove
greater the losses. These losses are related to the level of dislocations. Annealing must be carried out under
defects in the material structure, which restrict the vacuum or in an H2 atmosphere, with a very slow
movement of magnetic domains. The movement of cooling rate.
domain boundaries can be impeded by impurities, If the application requires it, PM soft magnetic
porosity or grain boundaries, and also by stress fields materials can also be coated or steam treated, although
and dislocations. This last point has particular impor- both these processes can affect the magnetic properties.
tance for parts with complicated geometries, which Coating the material can reduce permeability, whilst
require machining operations after sintering. The total steam treatment can reduce both permeability and
losses of a material are also related to its resistivity, induction. Neither treatment has a significant effect on
which affects the losses due to Eddy currents. the coercive force.
These are currents induced under the action of a
varying magnetic field. They can lead to significant
losses when the applied field is alternative current (AC), 4. First generation PM soft magnetic materials
particularly at high frequencies, and can cause signifi-
cant heating of the material. 4.1. Pure Fe (types SNF-72, SNF-74, and SAF-76)

Iron compacted by NDT processes typically exhibits a

3. The PM production process coercive force of 1.5 A cm 1 and a maximum perme-
ability of 3000. These properties can be improved with
For relatively undemanding applications, NDT pro- the use of HDT processes to give a coercive force of
duction can give adequate properties. This technology 0.8 A cm 1 and a maximum permeability of 6000. Pure
uses conventional compacting and sintering processes, iron is used in circuits where the magnetic excitation is
i.e. compacting pressures from 600–800 MPa, and provided by permanent magnets, or by DC or low-
sintering temperatures between 11201C and 12501C, to frequency (o10 Hz) pulsed current coils, with medium
give densities of around 92–94% of the wrought to high magnetic fluxes. In low power circuits, higher
material. frequencies can be used (o200 Hz). Hysteresis loops for
The saturation induction of a soft magnetic material is pure iron produced by NDT and HDT processes are
a linear function of density, and, as mentioned shown in Figs. 2 and 3, respectively.
 J.A. Bas et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 254–255 (2003) 391–398 393

Fig. 4. Hysteresis loop for Fe–P. Density: 7.1 g cm 3.

Fig. 2. Hysteresis loop for pure iron produced via NDT.
Density: 7.2 g cm 3.

Fig. 5. Hysteresis loop for Fe–Si Density: 7.5 g cm 3.

Fig. 3. Hysteresis loop for pure iron produced via HDT.

Density: 7.6 g cm 3. 20%) by using HDT processes. Fig. 5 gives a typical
hysteresis loop for SAF-Si3-75. With low coercive force
and high resistivity, silicon iron is suitable for circuits
4.2. Fe–P (types SNF-P0.45-71, SNF-P0.45-73, and excited by alternating or pulsed currents with frequen-
SAF-P0.45-76) cies ranging from hundreds to several thousand hertz.

Alloying with phosphorous improves the soft mag- 4.4. Fe–Ni (types SAF-Ni50-80 and SAF-Ni80-85)
netic properties of iron, reducing the coercive force and
induction and increasing the maximum permeability. The Fe–Ni alloys have the highest known permeabil-
Fig. 4 shows a typical hysteresis loop for SNF-P0.45-71. ities for sintered soft magnetic materials, particularly
This holds true for Fe–P produced by both NDT and Fe–80%Ni, which can give a maximum permeability of
HDT processes. Sintering is partially carried out in the 95 000 with a coercive force of only 0.02 A cm 1. Fe–
a-phase, producing an increase in the ferrite grain size. 50%Ni has a higher coercive force and lower maximum
The lower coercive force of Fe–P makes it more suitable permeability, but gives twice the induction as Fe–80%Ni
than pure Fe for applications where quick response and for the same excitation field. Fig. 6 shows typical
low inertia are required. hysteresis loops for SAF-Ni50-80 and SAF-Ni80-85.
The very high permeability and very low coercive force
4.3. Fe–Si (types SAF-Si3-73 and SAF-Si3-75) of Fe–Ni alloys make them suitable for use in circuits
that are excited by very low currents and require quick
Silicon is added to iron to increase its resistivity, response.
reducing losses due to Eddy currents. A silicon content
of 3 wt% gives a resistivity of about 50 mO cm. Higher 4.5. Fe–Co (type SAF-Co49-79)
silicon contents further increase the resistivity, but also
decrease induction and make the material extremely Cobalt is a strongly ferromagnetic material which,
brittle. Sintering of Fe–Si is carried out entirely in the a- when alloyed with iron and formed using HDT
phase, giving a large ferrite grain size which helps to processes, gives high induction at low excitation field
promote low coercive force and high permeability. strengths. A saturation induction of almost 2 T can be
Magnetic properties are further improved (by up to reached at an applied field of 12 A cm 1. Figs. 7 and 8
394 J.A. Bas et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 254–255 (2003) 391–398

Fig. 6. Hysteresis loop for Fe–50%Ni. Density: 8 g cm 3. Fig. 9. Hysteresis loop for ferritic stainless steel. Density:
7.1 g cm 3.

5. Applications for first generation materials

5.1. Automotive applications

The commonly produced parts for automotive appli-

cations can be divided into two groups: those that
convert motion to an electrical signal, and those that
convert an electrical signal into motion. In the first case
the material works under constant magnetisation, and
requires only moderate induction. Plain or phosphor-
Fig. 7. Hysteresis loop for Fe-80%Ni. Density: 8.5 g cm 3. ous–iron, at medium or high density is commonly used,
together with ferritic stainless steels, which combine soft
magnetic properties with good corrosion resistance and
elongation. Some typical examples of applications of
this sort are listed here.

5.2. ABS sensor rings

This is currently the main application for conven-

tional PM soft magnetic materials. Anti-lock brake
system (ABS) sensor rings are toothed rings attached to
the wheel shaft which rotate with the wheel. The
movement of the teeth causes an oscillating current in
a sensor, the frequency of which is related to the wheel
Fig. 8. Hysteresis loop for Fe-Co. Density: 8 g cm 3. speed. If the wheel [1] locks under braking, this
oscillating current is interrupted, triggering a release of
the braking pressure and unlocking the wheel. There are
many different designs, with different tooth profiles or
show a sample hysteresis loop for SAF-Co49-80. Fe–Co with the teeth located on the outside diameter or face,
is used for applications requiring a high ratio of but all fulfil essentially the same function. Fig. 10 shows
induction to volume or weight. Its only major dis- some typical production parts.
advantage is high price. In addition to their magnetic properties, ABS sensor
rings must be sufficiently elastic so as not to break
during the assembly onto the wheel shaft. They will
4.6. Stainless steel (type SAF-Cr17-M1-71) usually also need good corrosion resistance. Ferritic
stainless steel is an appropriate material to provide this
This material is equivalent to AISI 434L ferritic combination of properties, but there is currently a trend
stainless steel, and is primarily used in applications towards the use of plain or phosphorous iron with a
where the magnetic requirements are not extreme but Dacromet coating in order to reduce costs. Dacromet is
good corrosion resistance is required. Fig. 9 shows a a suitable choice for this application since it gives good
typical hysteresis loop. resistance to impact (such as from gravel or sand)
 J.A. Bas et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 254–255 (2003) 391–398 395

without chipping, but other coatings such as zinc or

nickel–chrome can also be used.

5.3. Pump angle sensor

This component (Fig. 11) is essentially a disc with

asymmetrical slots, which is mounted on the pump axis.
The principle of operation is the same as for ABS sensor
rings, but the asymmetry of the disc allows monitoring
of position as well as rotational speed. This part is
fabricated from pure iron.
A wide range of parts are produced with similar
operating principles [2]. These include pulse generators
and rotational speed sensors for ignition systems,
rotation and torque sensors for power steering systems, Fig. 12. Four-pole stator for a stepper motor.
and input and output speed sensors for electronic
gearbox control systems.
The second category of applications, the conversion
of electrical signal to motion, is more demanding of

Fig. 13. Stepper motor stator components.

magnetic properties. The materials work under magnetic

Fig. 10. ABS sensor rings. cycles, and must have fast response and low remanence.
They therefore require high permeability, high induc-
tion, and low coercive force. Phosphorous iron at
medium or high density is widely used, but for certain
applications using high-frequency pulsed currents silicon
iron is required to reduce Eddy current losses. A typical
example of these applications are stepper motors, which
are used in a variety of automotive and other applica-
tions, such as providing electronic control of valve
openings. PM soft magnetic materials are ideally suited
to the production of the complex shaped stators and
rotors used in these devices. Figs. 12 and 13 show some
examples.

5.4. Non-automotive applications

While the automotive sector is the major consumer of

Fig. 11. Pump angle sensor. PM soft magnetic materials, they have also found
396 J.A. Bas et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 254–255 (2003) 391–398

6.1. Insulated PM soft magnetic materials

These are composite PM materials consisting of iron

powder coated with a—usually inorganic—insulating
material. Conventional compacting processes are used,
but the parts are not sintered. Instead they are cured in
air at temperatures from 150 1C to 2751C, and can
subsequently be annealed, typically at 5001C. The result
is a part with low mechanical strength but with
extremely high resistivity (about 300 000 mO cm), limiting
Eddy currents and giving as a result very low losses.
The performance of conventional sintered soft mag-
netic materials is strongly dependent on the frequency of
the application. By contrast, the magnetic properties of
the insulated materials remain relatively stable over a
Fig. 14. Impact printer head. range of frequencies. Fig. 15 shows hysteresis loops for
both a conventional sintered Fe–3%Si and an insulated
material tested at both 0.01 Hz (equivalent to DC) and
application in many other fields, such as the computing at 500 Hz. At the low frequency of 0.01 Hz and an
industry, household appliances, or measuring equip- applied field of 1 A cm 1, the Fe–3%Si develops an
ment. Examples include cores for dimmer switches, induction of about 1.1 T compared to only 0.02 T for the
contact plates, heater valves, relay armatures and gas insulated material. However, at the high frequency
security valve cores. (500 Hz), the hysteresis loop for Fe–3%Si has a large
Fig. 14 shows the example of a printer head for the area, indicating significant losses, while the insulated
impact printers widely used in applications such as material has a low area indicating low losses. At the
automated telling machines. These parts require a high same applied magnetic field of 18 A cm 1, the Fe–3%Si
resistivity and high permeability (40–50 mO cm), and are gives losses of about 132 W kg 1, compared with about
produced from silicon iron. 20 W kg 1 for the insulated material.
However, although the insulated materials give an
improvement in performance at high frequency over
6. Second generation soft magnetic materials conventional sintered soft magnetic materials, they are
not able to match the laminated wrought sheets
The first generation of PM soft magnetic materials traditionally used for AC applications. Compared with
give good performance for DC applications but their use these laminates, the insulated materials have lower
in high-frequency AC applications is limited by high induction and much lower permeability (typically 500
total losses. The second generation of PM soft magnetic for insulated materials against 1000–5000 for laminates)
materials is the result of the search for materials which Fig. 16, but in Fig. 17 the total losses are comparable to
will allow the benefits of PM production to be laminated sheets [5]. Why, then, is there such interest in
brought to AC applications, and includes amorphous these materials? The answer is that their benefits are seen
materials and high-resistivity crystalline materials in real-world applications rather than in simple labora-
(HRCMs). Amorphous materials, or materials without tory material testing.
a crystalline structure, have been produced by mechan- These insulated materials have several advantages
ical alloying or rapid solidification by melt spinning of over conventional laminated sheet. Firstly, the magnetic
alloys of the type Fe–B–Si–M, where M is a ferromag- properties of the insulated materials are isotropic.
netic material such as Ni or Co. The result is a material Although laminated silicon–irons have better magnetic
with high induction, high resistivity and high perme- properties than the insulated materials, this is only true
ability. in the direction of the laminated sheet. By contrast, the
HRCMs, currently being researched, are complex insulated materials have the same properties in all
materials with compositions of the form Fe–Mo–Si– directions. This allows for the redesign of magnetic
Mn–M, where M is a metal or metalloid. They have high circuits using 3D flux paths, which can result in more
induction and high resistivity, giving low total losses and compact and space-efficient applications.
offering the potential for use in AC applications. These A particular advantage of the insulated materials is a
materials hold considerable promise for the future [3,4]. PM advantage: materials are produced as smooth net-
Of the second generation materials, the most highly shape forms, avoiding the sharp edges typical of
developed are the insulated or encapsulated materials. laminated parts. This allows for tighter more efficient
These will be considered here in more detail. windings, which in turn give a higher thermal con-
 J.A. Bas et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 254–255 (2003) 391–398 397

Fig. 15. Hysteresis loops for Fe–3%Si and insulated material, tested at 0.01 and 500 Hz.

1.60 1000
Laminate Laminat e 1.5T

1.40 ICIM 1.5T

Laminat e 1.0T
Laminate (As-stamped) ICIM 1.0T
1.20 100 Laminat e 0.5T
ICIM 0.5T

1.00
Losses (W/Kg)

Insulated
B (T)

0.80 10

0.60

0.40
1

0.20

0.00
0 10 20 30 40 0.1
10 100 1000
H (A/cm) Test Frequency (Hz)

Fig. 16. Curves of inital magnetisation for insulated. Fig. 17. Losses measured for insulated and laminated materi-
als. laminates tested at different frequencies and field strengths.
insulated composite inorganic materials (ICIM).

ductivity, and permit a higher current input. This also

allows a reduction in the amount of copper required, situ in the final application and not simply on the basis
which can give an improvement in the performance of a of pure material properties.
motor. In a typical small motor, copper losses can The primary disadvantage of these materials is their
account for as much as 60% of the total losses, another low mechanical strength. Because they are not sintered,
example of why it is necessary to judge these materials in their strength is not comparable with that of conven-
398 J.A. Bas et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 254–255 (2003) 391–398

Table 1 As well as the lower mechanical strength, the lower

Typical mechanical properties of some soft magnetic materials permeability of the insulated materials means that they
cannot be used as a direct replacement for laminated
Material
sheet in most electric motor applications without a
Density (g cm 1)
Hardness reduction in performance. A redesign of the motor is
Tensile strength (MPa) usually required to take advantage of the benefits of the
ICIM new materials, and certain types of motors are better
suited to the use of insulated materials than others. In
7.3 particular, motors in which the magnetic excitation is
80RF supplied by permanent magnets lend themselves to the
50 use of stators and rotors fabricated from insulated
materials. In this case, the overall reluctance of the
Laminated Fe–Si (M-27)
motor is dominated by the low permeability of the
7.7
permanent magnets, and the difference in permeability
80RB
400 between laminated sheet and the insulated materials is
not significant.
Sintered Fe–3wt%Si Commercial use of these insulated powders has begun
7.3–7.55.75RB with their use as a low-cost alternative to conventional
375 materials for ignition core coils, and in light of the many
advantages offered by these new materials they seem
certain to find widespread application.
tional sintered soft magnetic materials. A typical value
of tensile strength for an insulated material in the as-
cured condition is of the order of 50 Mpa (Table 1). This
can present problems for the handling and transport of References
insulated material components, and limits their applica-
[1] C. Lall. Soft Magnetism Fundamental for Powder Metal-
tion in high-speed motors. However, this relatively low
lurgy and Metal Injection Molding, MPIF, Princeton, NJ,
strength does have give a practical advantage; it 1992, pp. 93–96.
facilitates the recycling of motors fabricated from the *
[2] J.A. Bas, J. Penafiel, C. Molins Jr., Soft magnetic parts for
insulated materials. auto—present & future, EPMA Automotive PM Parts,
The crushing of a motor in order to separate the Workshop, Munich, October 1997.
copper windings from the core material, which is [3] J.A. Bas, L. Paradelo, J.A. Calero, M.J. Dougan, J.
difficult or impossible for conventional motors made Morato,! C. Molins, Properties and applications of both
from laminated sheet, is relatively straightforward for sintered and bonded iron-base soft magnetic materials,
motors with cores produced using the insulated materi- Euro PM’2000, Munich, October 18–27, p. 30.
[4] M.T. Clavaguera-Mora, N. Clavaguera, M. V!azquez, J.A.
als.
*
Bas, J. Penafiel, Influence of added elements in Fe and Fe–
For applications requiring a higher level of mechan-
3Si soft magnetic materials, Powder Metallurgy World
ical strength, the problem of low strength of the Congress, Granada, 1998, p. 544.
insulated materials can to some extent be addressed [5] J.A. Bas, J.A. Calero, M.J. Dougan, J. Morato,! C. Molins,
using warm compaction or direct die lubrication. Both Applications for encapsulated powder materials in electric
of these techniques give parts with a higher density and motors, Powder Metallurgy Congress, Kyoto, Part 2, 2000,
therefore a higher strength. p. 1344.