Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation

    Interpretable machine learning-guided design of Fe-based soft magnetic alloys

    Aditi Nachnani, Kai K. Li-Caldwell, Saptarshi Biswas, Prince Sharma, Gaoyuan Ouyang, and Prashant Singh*

    • *Contact author: psingh84@ameslab.gov; prashant40179@gmail.com

    Phys. Rev. Materials 9, 084411 – Published 22 August, 2025

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/w6m3-ymsf

    Abstract

    We present a machine learning (ML) guided approach to predict saturation magnetization (MS) and coercivity (HC) in Fe-rich soft magnetic alloys, particularly Fe-Si-B systems. ML models trained on experimental data reveal that increasing Si and B content reduces MS from 1.81 T (DFT≈2.04 T) to ≈1.54 T (DFT≈1.56T) in Fe-Si-B, which is attributed to decreased magnetic density and structural modifications. Experimental validation of ML predicted magnetic saturation on Fe-1Si-1B (2.09 T), Fe-5Si-5B (2.01 T), and Fe-10Si-10B (1.54 T) alloy compositions further supports our findings. These trends are consistent with density functional theory predictions, which link increased electronic disorder and band broadening to lower MS values. Experimental validation on selected alloys confirms the predictive accuracy of the ML model, with good agreement across compositions. Beyond predictive accuracy, detailed uncertainty quantification and model interpretability including through feature importance and partial dependence analysis reveal that MS is governed by a nonlinear interplay between Fe content and early transition metal ratios, while HC is more sensitive to processing conditions such as ribbon thickness and thermal treatment windows. The ML framework was further applied to Fe-Si-B/Cr/Cu/Zr/Nb alloys in a pseudoquaternary compositional space, which shows comparable magnetic properties to NANOMET (Fe84.8Si0.5B9.4Cu0.8P3.5C1), FINEMET (Fe73.5Si13.5B9Cu1Nb3), NANOPERM (Fe88Zr7B4Cu1), and HITPERM (Fe44Co44Zr7B4Cu1. Our findings demonstrate the potential of the ML framework for accelerated search of high-performance soft magnetic materials.

    Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

    Authorization Required

    We need you to provide your credentials before accessing this content.

    Supplemental Material (Subscription Required)

    References (Subscription Required)

    Outline

    Information

    Sign In to Your Journals Account

    Filter

    Filter

    Article Lookup

    Enter a citation