A step of, while an RLM alloy powder (where RL is Nd and/or Pr; M is one or more elements selected from among Cu, Fe, Ga, Co, Ni and Al) and an RH oxide powder (where RH is Dy and/or Tb) are present on the surface of a sintered R-T-B based magnet, performing a heat treatment at a sintering temperature of the sintered R-T-B based magnet or lower is included. The RLM alloy contains RL in an amount of 50 at % or more, and the melting point of the RLM alloy is equal to or less than the temperature of the heat treatment. The heat treatment is performed while the RLM alloy powder and the RH oxide powder are present on the surface of the sintered R-T-B based magnet at a mass ratio of RLM alloy:RH oxide=9.6:0.4 to 5:5.

A method for producing a permanent or soft magnet including the following steps: a) providing: a solution containing a solvent in which are dispersed a set of objects which possess a permanent magnetic moment; a substrate on which are fixed to the surface or within a cavity that it may have, a 1st pad and a 2nd pad, said 1st pad includes a face facing and parallel to a face that the 2nd pad includes; b) the solution is deposited on the surface of the substrate or, as the case may be, within its cavity; c) the substrate is placed in a magnetic field so that the set of objects are grouped together between the face of the 1st pad and the face of the 2nd pad so as to form a permanent magnet.

A two-step diffusion method for preparing high-performance dual-main-phase sintered mischmetal-iron-boron magnet belongs to the preparing technical field of rare earth permanent magnet materials. The compositions of the two main phase alloys are RE-Fe—B (RE is Nd or Pr) and (Nd, MM)-Fe—B (MM is mischmetal), respectively. First, PrHoFe strip-casting alloy is used as a diffusion source. Next, a PrHo-rich layer is uniformly coated on the surface of (Nd, MM)-Fe—B hydrogen decrepitation powders. The higher anisotropic fields of Pr.sub.2Fe.sub.14B and Ho.sub.2Fe.sub.14B are used to improve the coercivity. Then, the ZrCu strip-casting alloy is used as a diffusion source. A Zr-rich layer is uniformly coated on the surface of the powders after the first-step diffusion, which prevents the growth of the MM-rich main phase grains during the sintering process and the inter-diffusion between the two main phases, thus obtains high coercivity.

In at least one embodiment, a single sintered magnet is provided having a concentration profile of heavy rare-earth (HRE) elements within a continuously sintered rare-earth (RE) magnet bulk. The concentration profile may include at least one local maximum of HRE element concentration within the bulk such that a coercivity profile of the magnet has at least one local maximum within the bulk. The magnet may be formed by introducing alternating layers of an HRE containing material and a magnetic powder into a mold, pressing the layers into a green compact, and sintering the green compact to form a single, unitary magnet.

An R-T-B based permanent magnet includes R-T-B based compounds as main-phase crystal grains. R is a rare earth element. T is iron group element(s) essentially including Fe or Fe and Co. B is boron. A two-grain boundary is contained between the two adjacent main-phase crystal grains. An average grain size of the main-phase crystal grains is 0.9 μm or more and 2.8 μm or less. A thickness of the two-grain boundary is 5 nm or more and 200 nm or less.

An R-T-B based permanent magnet includes R-T-B based compounds as main-phase crystal grains. R is a rare earth element. T is iron group element(s) essentially including Fe or Fe and Co. B is boron. A two-grain boundary is contained between the two adjacent main-phase crystal grains. An average grain size of the main-phase crystal grains is 0.9 μm or more and 2.8 μm or less. A thickness of the two-grain boundary is 5 nm or more and 200 nm or less.

An R-T-B based permanent magnet includes main phase grains composed of R.sub.2T.sub.14B type compound. R is a rare earth element. T is iron group element(s) essentially including Fe or Fe and Co. B is boron. An average grain size of the main phase grains is 0.8 μm to 2.8 μm. The R-T-B based permanent magnet contains at least C and Ga in addition to R, T, and B. B is contained at 0.71 mass % to 0.86 mass %. C is contained at 0.13 mass % to 0.34 mass %. Ga is contained at 0.40 mass % to 1.80 mass %. A formula (1) of 0.14≦[C]/([B]+[C])≦0.30 is satisfied, where [B] is a B content represented by atom %, and [C] is a C content represented by atom %.

An R-T-B based permanent magnet includes main phase grains composed of R.sub.2T.sub.14B type compound. R is a rare earth element. T is iron group element(s) essentially including Fe or Fe and Co. B is boron. An average grain size of the main phase grains is 0.8 μm to 2.8 μm. The R-T-B based permanent magnet contains at least C and Ga in addition to R, T, and B. B is contained at 0.71 mass % to 0.86 mass %. C is contained at 0.13 mass % to 0.34 mass %. Ga is contained at 0.40 mass % to 1.80 mass %. A formula (1) of 0.14≦[C]/([B]+[C])≦0.30 is satisfied, where [B] is a B content represented by atom %, and [C] is a C content represented by atom %.

A rare earth permanent magnet includes a main phase composed of a main phase particle and a grain boundary present among a plurality of the main phase particles. The grain boundary includes a region whose electric resistance is higher than that of the main phase.

A sintered annular magnet with a radial orientation of a remanent magnetic field, including: a principal annular part made from a ferromagnetic material, that has a first degree of magnetic anisotropy in the radial direction; and an annular reinforcing part fixed to the principal part of the magnet, the reinforcing part being made from same ferromagnetic material as the ferromagnetic material forming the principal part, and that has a second degree of magnetic anisotropy in the radial direction, the first degree being higher than the second degree.