Effect of Fe Substitution on Magnetic Properties and Radar Wave Absorption of the Y₂Co₁₇ Rare Earth Soft Magnetic Alloy

The rapid development of information technology leads a demand for high frequency soft magnetic materials with exceptional radar wave absorption properties. A new magnetic material with superior radar wave absorption is explored in this paper. we explored the preparation of Y₂Co_17−xFe_x (x = 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0) alloy powders using yttrium oxide as a raw material by a low-cost and short preparation cycle reduction-diffusion process. The crystal structure, intrinsic magnetic properties, high frequency magnetism and radar wave absorption of Y₂Co_17−xFe_x (x = 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0) were investigated. These compounds have a perfect magnetic repair of Y₂Co₁₇ and enable the improvement of the overall magnetic properties of Y₂Co_17−xFe_x (x = 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0) compounds. The Y₂Co_17−xFe_x/Polyurethane (PU) (x = 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0) absorbers were divided in detail using the zero-reflection mechanism. The results show that all Y₂Co_17−xFe_x/PU (x = 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0) absorbers have excellent absorption performance (reflection loss RL is less than −85 dB); in addition, Y₂Co₁₅Fe₂/PU absorbers and Y₂Co₁₄Fe₃/PU absorbers are superior candidates for S-band materials. In particular, the perfectly matched frequency f_p of the modulated Y₂Co₁₄Fe₃/PU absorber is shifted to the L-band (1–2 GHz) where early warning radars are located. The Y₂Co₁₄Fe₃/PU absorber has an effective absorption bandwidth of 300 MHz (1.5–1.8 GHz) at a thickness of 5.230 mm. It can also absorb the full L-band at −4 dB, which has rarely been reported.