Patent ID: 8758906

Claim:
A soft magnetic material, comprising: a plurality of composite magnetic particles, each of said plurality of composite magnetic particles having: a metal magnetic particle including iron; a lower film surrounding a surface of said metal magnetic particle and being formed of an oxide of a nonferrous metal satisfying a composition range where the amount of oxygen is less than the amount of oxygen of a stoichiometry composition of a compound constituted of an element of the nonferrous metal that constitutes the lower film, and oxygen; and an insulating upper film surrounding a surface of said lower film and including oxygen, wherein said nonferrous metal includes at least one amorphous metal selected from the group consisting of aluminum, chromium, and silicon, an absolute value of heat generated when a primary compound is produced by a reaction between oxygen and said at least one selected from the group consisting of aluminum, chromium, and silicon, is greater than an absolute value of heat generated when a primary compound is produced by a reaction between iron and oxygen, and said upper film includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a phosphorus compound, a zirconium compound, and a titanium compound.