The magnetization and magnetostriction of a variety of 3/16-in.-diam Laves
phase rods of Tb(x)Dy(y)Ho(1-x)2(y)Fe(1.95) grown in the form of [112] orie
nted dendritic compounds were measured as a function of applied magnetic fi
eld -3000<H<3000 Oe and compressive stresses of 22 and 47 MPa at room tempe
rature. Compared to Terfenol-D (Tb0.3Dy0.7Fe1.95), the widely used room tem
perature magnetostrictive material, Ho containing alloys can have substanti
ally lower hysteresis with only slightly lower magnetostriction. The Ho con
centration was kept relatively small (less than or equal to 0.3) to avoid a
substantial decrease in the magnetostriction, while the ratio of x and y w
as chosen to examine alloys spanning the line of minimum magnetic anisotrop
y. Most of the compositions have twice the Ho content of the previous study
. As expected, alloys with higher Ho concentrations showed narrower hystere
sis curves. The data shows that at 22 MPa, the Tb0.28Dy0.57Ho0.15Fe1.95 com
position has a minimal (3%) loss of magnetostriction, while the hysteresis
width decreased by 15%. Between 15% and 20% Ho content, the magnetostrictio
n drops abruptly. For alloys with a fixed Ho concentration, the strain show
ed a peak near the expected anisotropy minimum, but the hysteresis width al
ways increased with increasing Tb content. (C) 1999 American Institute of P
hysics. [S0021-8979(99)23408-1].