Mechanical alloying (MA) was used to prepare pseudobinary high Pr-content Tb0.7Pr0.3Fex alloys. The structural and magnetoelastic properties were in investigated by means of x-ray diffraction and a standard strain technique. A single (Tb,Pr)Fe2 Laves phase with MgCu2-type structure for the composition Tb0.7Pr0.3Fe1.80 was synthesized by MA and subsequent annealing process. The high magnetostriction of 600 ppm was achieved at 10 kOe for the epoxy-bonded Tb0.7Pr0.3Fe1.8 composite.
Ceramic samples of tantalo-niobates solid solutions with yttrium and gadolinium cations (RE(NbxTa1-x)O4, RE = Y or Gd, and x=0÷1) have been obtained by solid-state synthesis. Luminescence properties of yttrium and gadolinium tantalo-niobates under X-ray and synchrotron radiation, UV and VUV radiation have been studied in visible and UV spectral regions. The luminescence mechanisms in yttrium and gadolinium tantalo-niobates have been determined as well.