Magnetic properties of Nd/sub 2/Fe/sub 17-x/Ga/sub x/ compounds

Nd/sub 2/Fe/sub 17-x/Ga/sub x/ compounds with x=0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 have been fabricated by arc-melting, and annealed for different times. The structure and magnetic properties for these compounds were studied. X-ray diffraction measurements show that these compounds have the rhombohedral Th/sub 2/Zn/sub 17/ structure and are single phase except for Nd/sub 2/Fe/sub 13/Ga/sub 4/ which contains some /spl alpha/-Fe and another unknown phase. Lattice parameters and unit cell volume are found to increase with increasing Ga concentration. Structural and magnetic measurements on magnetically aligned powder samples show that all the samples studied have an easy-plane anisotropy.