ELECTRONIC-STRUCTURE OF SM2FE17NX COMPOUNDS

Sm2Fe17Nx is of considerable current interest as a permanent-magnet ma terial because of its enhanced Curie temperature and uniaxial anisotro py. The electronic structures of Sm2Fe17Nx for x = 0 and x approximate ly 2.6 have been studied with photoemission and spin-polarized calcula tions. The materials are prepared by arc melting and nitrogen is intro duced by ion implantation. The nitrogen concentration is quantified wi th Auger electron spectroscopy. The Sm 4f electrons with binding energ ies between 6 and 10 eV are investigated with resonant photoemission u sing photon energies near 140 eV. The major features of ultra-violet p hotoemission spectra include the Fe 3d band with a strong peak at 0.8 eV and a small peak at 2.9 eV below the Fermi energy which agree quite well with the theoretical density of states calculation. The modifica tion of the electronic structure with nitrogen concentration is studie d to understand the effect of nitrogen addition on the magnetic proper ties.