Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
The effect of chemical order and defect structure on the magnetization process in Sm2Fe17 and Sm2Fe17Nx has been investigated. In Sm2Fe17, chemical disorder results in the development of random anisotropy and a small degree of magnetic hardness. The anisotropy is reduced as long-range order increases. The motion of domain walls in Sm2Fe17Nx is more dependent on the antiphase domain structure than on the amount of long-range order.