SBIR Phase I: Soft Magnetic Nanocomposites for High Frequency Electronic and Electrical Devices

This Small Business Innovation Research project will develop soft magnetic nanocomposite materials for applications in electronic and electrical devices operating at high frequency. AC electronic and electrical devices operating at high frequencies require soft magnetic core materials that possess high saturation magnetization, high initial permeability, and low loss. Various metals and alloys e.g. Fe, Fe-Si, Fe-Ni Permalloys, Fe-Co are used in applications. These materials have high saturation magnetization, low coercivity and high permeability but because of low resistivity of these materials, the loss is very high at high frequencies. Ferrites on the other hand have low loss because of its high resistivity but have lower saturation magnetization compared to the soft magnetic metals and alloys. This project aims to synthesize a new kind of nanocomposites consisting of some ferromagnetic and ferrite materials. These novel nanocomposites will be manufactured utilizing an inexpensive and easily scalable process. These nanocomposite powders will be compacted to near theoretical densities to produce bulk materials with different shapes and sizes. The synthesis, structure and frequency dependent magnetic properties of these materials will be evaluated in the Phase I research effort. Commercially the principal applications of these nanocomposites are in alternating current machines operating at high frequency e.g. transformers, generators, motors, inductor cores, magnetic amplifiers, power converters and motor drivers for military and commercial satellites, aircrafts and spacecrafts, tunable filters for cellular handset, loading coils for impedance loading in audio industry, etc.