Soft magnetic composite (SMC) cores, produced by compacting insulated iron powders, are expected to improve the efficiency of motors and boost converters. Low-cost water atomized iron powders are used as raw materials for SMC cores. Since the water atomized iron powders containing a large amount of oxygen impurity, there is a problem that the magnetic properties of the SMC cores are deteriorated due to oxygen impurity. First, green compacts were made by several kinds of water atomized iron powders in which oxygen content levels are different, then were annealed in vacuum. It was found that the coercivity and the hardness of these compacts were proportional to the oxygen concentration in iron powders. By TEM observation of the compacts, it was confirmed that there were very fine oxide particles smaller than 10 nm in inside of the iron powders, and that the number density of oxide particle increase with increase in oxygen concentration. From a correlation between coercivity and particle number density, it was predicted that the existence of ultrafine oxide particles caused the increase in coercivity.
KEY WORDSsoft magnetic composite, iron powder, water atomization, oxide particle, vickers hardness, coercivity 3 1,2)