Soft magnetic material, rotating electric machine, motor, and generator

1. A soft magnetic material comprising:

flattened magnetic metal particles including at least one magnetic metal selected from iron (Fe), cobalt (Co) and nickel (Ni), each of the flattened magnetic metal particles having a thickness of from 10 nm to 100 μm, an aspect ratio [(a+b)/2]/t of from 5 to 10,000, and a lattice strain of from 0.01% to 10%, and being oriented with magnetic anisotropy in one direction within aligned flattened surface; and

an interposed phase existing between the flattened magnetic metal particles and including at least one of oxygen (O), carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and fluorine (F),

wherein in [(a+b)/2]/t, b is the minimum length in the flattened surface, a is the maximum length in the flattened surface, and t is the thickness of the flattened magnetic metal particle.

2. The soft magnetic material according to claim 1 , wherein the magnetization behavior of the flattened magnetic metal particles proceeds by domain wall displacement.

3. The soft magnetic material according to claim 1 , wherein the magnetization behavior of the flattened magnetic metal particles proceeds by rotation magnetization.

4. The soft magnetic material according to claim 1 , wherein the lattice spacing in the flattened surface of the flattened magnetic metal particles varies with direction, and the proportion of the difference between the maximum lattice spacing and the minimum lattice spacing is from 0.01% to 10%.

5. The soft magnetic material according to claim 1 , wherein the crystallites of the flattened magnetic metal particles are unidirectionally linked in a row within the flattened surface, or the crystallites are rod-shaped and are oriented in one direction within the flattened surface.

6. The soft magnetic material according to claim 1 , wherein the flattened magnetic metal particles include two magnetic metals Fe and Co, and Co is included at a proportion of from 10 atom % to 60 atom % relative to the total amount of Fe and Co.

7. The soft magnetic material according to claim 1 , wherein the flattened surface of the flattened magnetic metal particles is the (110) plane oriented or the (111) plane oriented.

8. The soft magnetic material according to claim 1 , wherein the flattened magnetic metal particles have a crystal structure of a body-centered cubic structure.

9. The soft magnetic material according to claim 1 , wherein the flattened magnetic metal particles have a crystal structure of a mixed phase of a body-centered cubic structure and a face-centered cubic structure.

10. The soft magnetic material according to claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the surface of the flattened magnetic metal particles is covered by a coating layer having a thickness of from 0.1 nm to 1 μm and including at least one of oxygen (O), carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and fluorine (F).

11. The soft magnetic material according to claim 1 , wherein the proportion of the lattice mismatch between the interposed phase and the flattened magnetic metal particles is from 0.1% to 50%.

12. The soft magnetic material according to claim 1 , wherein the interposed phase has a eutectic system including at least two secondary elements selected from the group consisting of boron (B), silicon (Si), chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), niobium (Nb), lithium (Li), barium (Ba), zinc (Zn), lanthanum (La), phosphorus (P), aluminum (Al), germanium (Ge), tungsten (W), sodium (Na), titanium (Ti), arsenic (As), vanadium (V), calcium (Ca), bismuth (Bi), lead (Pb), tellurium (Te), and tin (Sn), and includes an oxide having a softening point of from 200° C. to 600° C. and a coefficient of thermal expansion of from 0.5×10 −6 /° C. to 40×10 −6 /° C.

13. The soft magnetic material according to claim 12 , wherein the eutectic system has eutectic particles having a particle size of from 10 nm to 10 μm.

14. The soft magnetic material according to claim 12 , wherein the interposed phase further includes intermediate interposed particles having a softening point higher than the softening point of the eutectic system and including at least one element selected from the group consisting of O (oxygen), C (carbon), N (nitrogen) and F (fluorine).

15. The soft magnetic material according to claim 1 , wherein the interposed phase includes a resin.

16. The soft magnetic material according to claim 1 , wherein the interposed phase includes at least one magnetic metal selected from Fe, Co and Ni.

17. A soft magnetic material comprising:

a magnetic layer including:

flattened magnetic metal particles including at least one magnetic metal selected from Fe, Co and Ni, the flattened magnetic metal particles having a thickness of from 10 nm to 100 μm, an aspect ratio [(a+b)/2]/t of from 5 to 10,000, and a lattice strain of from 0.01% to 10%, and being oriented with magnetic anisotropy in one direction within aligned flattened surfaces; and

an interposed phase existing between the flattened magnetic metal particles and including at least one of oxygen (O), carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and fluorine (F), and

an intermediate layer provided in contact with the magnetic layer, the intermediate layer including any one of oxygen (O), carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and fluorine (F) and having a magnetic permeability smaller than the magnetic permeability of the magnetic layer,

wherein in [(a+b)/2]/t, b is the minimum length in the flattened surface, a is the maximum length in the flattened surface, and t is the thickness of the flattened magnetic metal particle.

18. A rotating electric machine including the soft magnetic material according to claim 1 .

19. A motor including the soft magnetic material according to claim 1 .

20. A generator including the soft magnetic material according to claim 1 .