Effect of Iron Particles Size on the High-Frequency Magnetic Properties of Iron-Borosilicate Soft Magnetic Composites

Iron-borosilicate magnetic composites could be applied as a soft magnetic material in high temperature and high frequency applications. In this research, the magnetic properties of soft magnetic composites with different iron particle sizes made by spark plasma sintering have been investigated. Different magnetic properties such as permeability, loss factor, and quality factor were examined up to frequencies in the order of kilohertz. The microstructural observations indicated the distribution of borosilicate on the iron grain boundaries. The results revealed that the loss factor is smaller for composites with fine particles at high frequencies. In addition, the magnetic impedance for smaller particles was greater. It was also found that the permeability and quality factor of composites with coarse particles are larger than those of fine particles. Indeed, when the particles become coarse, the density of porosities and consequently, the demagnetizing fields decrease which result in the increase of permeability. Furthermore, when the size of particles reduces, the density of grain boundaries enhances which is the main reason of lower loss factor achieved in the composites with fine particles.