This steel sheet has a predetermined chemical composition, in which a steel structure of an inside of the steel sheet contains, by volume fraction, soft ferrite: 0% to 30%, retained austenite: 3% to 40%, fresh martensite: 0% to 30%, a sum of pearlite and cementite: 0% to 10%, and a remainder includes hard ferrite, a number proportion of the retained austenite having an aspect ratio of 2.0 or more in the total retained austenite is 50% or more, a soft layer having a thickness of 1 to 100 μm from a surface in a sheet thickness direction is present, in ferrite contained in the soft layer, a volume fraction of grains having an aspect ratio of 3.0 or more is 50% or more, a volume fraction of retained austenite in the soft layer is 80% or less of the volume fraction of the retained austenite in the inside of the steel sheet, and a peak of an emission intensity at a wavelength indicating Si appears in a range of more than 0.2 μm and 10.0 μm or less from the surface.

This steel sheet has a predetermined chemical composition, in which a steel structure of an inside of the steel sheet contains, by volume fraction, soft ferrite: 0% to 30%, retained austenite: 3% to 40%, fresh martensite: 0% to 30%, a sum of pearlite and cementite: 0% to 10%, and a remainder includes hard ferrite, a number proportion of the retained austenite having an aspect ratio of 2.0 or more in the total retained austenite is 50% or more, a soft layer having a thickness of 1 to 100 μm from a surface in a sheet thickness direction is present, in ferrite contained in the soft layer, a volume fraction of grains having an aspect ratio of 3.0 or more is 50% or more, a volume fraction of retained austenite in the soft layer is 80% or less of the volume fraction of the retained austenite in the inside of the steel sheet, and a peak of an emission intensity at a wavelength indicating Si appears in a range of more than 0.2 μm and 10.0 μm or less from the surface.

A dust core that can significantly reduce the iron loss is provided. The dust core of the present invention includes soft magnetic particles comprising pure iron or an iron alloy and a grain boundary layer existing between adjacent soft magnetic particles. The grain boundary layer has a compound layer comprising M.sub.xFe.sub.2-xSiO.sub.4 (0≤x≤1, M: one or more types of metal elements that serve as divalent cations). Such a dust core is obtained by annealing a compact. The compact is obtained by compression-molding a powder for magnetic cores. In the powder for magnetic cores, coating layers that coat the surfaces of soft magnetic particles are each composed of a composite phase in which spinel-type ferrite represented by M.sub.yFe.sub.3-yO.sub.4 (0≤y≤1, M: one or more types of metal elements that serve as divalent cations) is dispersed on a surface of a silicone resin or inside the silicone resin. The dust core after annealing exhibits a high specific resistance due to the grain boundary layer having the compound layer and can reduce both the eddy-current loss and the hysteresis loss.

A hot-rolled steel sheet includes a specific chemical composition, and includes a microstructure represented by, in vol %: retained austenite: 2% to 30%; ferrite: 20% to 85%; bainite: 10% to 60%; pearlite: 5% or less; and martensite: 10% or less. A proportion of grains having an intragranular misorientation of 5° to 14° in all grains is 5% to 50% by area ratio, the grain being defined as an area which is surrounded by a boundary having a misorientation of 15° or more and has a circle-equivalent diameter of 0.3 μm or more.

A hot-rolled steel sheet includes a specific chemical composition, and includes a microstructure represented by, in vol %: retained austenite: 2% to 30%; ferrite: 20% to 85%; bainite: 10% to 60%; pearlite: 5% or less; and martensite: 10% or less. A proportion of grains having an intragranular misorientation of 5° to 14° in all grains is 5% to 50% by area ratio, the grain being defined as an area which is surrounded by a boundary having a misorientation of 15° or more and has a circle-equivalent diameter of 0.3 μm or more.

A hot-stamping formed body has a predetermined chemical composition and a microstructure including, by area ratio, 90% to 100% of martensite and 0% to 10% of a remainder in the microstructure. In the microstructure, a region in which an average GAIQ value in a unit grain is 60,000 or more is 30 area % or more, and a number density of carbides having a circle equivalent diameter of 0.20 μm or more is 50/mm.sup.2 or less.

Provided is a steel sheet having a predetermined chemical composition, wherein precipitates having a diameter of less than 0.1 μm are present in a number density of 10 to 200/μm.sup.2 in a depth region of 1 to 10 μm from a surface, an amount of dissolved C in a depth region of 10 to 60 μm from the surface is less than 0.20 mass %, and a tensile strength is 1200 MPa or more. Further, provided is a method for producing a steel sheet comprising a step of hot rolling a steel slab having a predetermined chemical composition, then coiling it at 580° C. or less, a step of pickling the hot rolled steel sheet to remove oxide scale and remove the surface layer of the hot rolled steel sheet down to at least 5 μm, and a step of cold rolling the hot rolled steel sheet, then holding it in an atmosphere of a dew point of −20 to 20° C. at a temperature region of 200 to 400° C. for 20 to 180 seconds and holding it at a temperature region of 740 to 900° C. for 40 to 300 seconds.

Provided is a steel sheet having a predetermined chemical composition and microstructure, wherein a block size in a first depth region of 1 to 10 μm from the surface is 5.0 μm or less, a block size in a second depth region of 10 to 60 μm from the surface is 6.0 to 20.0 μm, and a block size in a third depth region of 60 μm to 1/4 thickness from the surface is less than 6.0 μm. Further, provided is a method for producing a steel sheet comprising a step of hot rolling a steel slab having a predetermined chemical composition, then coiling it at 500° C. or more, a step of pickling the hot rolled steel sheet to remove oxide scale, wherein an amount of removal of the surface layer of the hot rolled steel sheet is less than 5.00 μm, a step of cold rolling by a rolling reduction of 30 to 90%, and an annealing step of holding in an atmosphere of a dew point of −20 to 20° C. at a temperature region of 740 to 900° C. for 40 to 300 seconds.

A method for producing a NdFeB system sintered magnet. The method includes: a hydrogen pulverization process, in which coarse powder of a NdFeB system alloy is prepared by coarsely pulverizing a lump of NdFeB system alloy by making this lump occlude hydrogen; a fine pulverization process, in which fine powder is prepared by performing fine pulverization for further pulverizing the coarse powder; a filling process, in which the fine powder is put into a filling container; an orienting process, in which the fine powder in the filling container is oriented; and a sintering process, in which the fine powder after the orienting process is sintered as held in the filling container. The processes from hydrogen pulverization through orienting are performed with neither dehydrogenation heating nor evacuation each for desorbing hydrogen occluded in the hydrogen pulverization process. The processes from hydrogen pulverization through sintering are performed in an oxygen-free atmosphere.

A method for producing a NdFeB system sintered magnet. The method includes: a hydrogen pulverization process, in which coarse powder of a NdFeB system alloy is prepared by coarsely pulverizing a lump of NdFeB system alloy by making this lump occlude hydrogen; a fine pulverization process, in which fine powder is prepared by performing fine pulverization for further pulverizing the coarse powder; a filling process, in which the fine powder is put into a filling container; an orienting process, in which the fine powder in the filling container is oriented; and a sintering process, in which the fine powder after the orienting process is sintered as held in the filling container. The processes from hydrogen pulverization through orienting are performed with neither dehydrogenation heating nor evacuation each for desorbing hydrogen occluded in the hydrogen pulverization process. The processes from hydrogen pulverization through sintering are performed in an oxygen-free atmosphere.