CMI researchers at Ames Laboratory conducted the research for this highlight
Achievement
Discovery of new Ce-based ferromagnet with huge anisotropy field Ha = ~30 T.
Significance and Impact
Substitution of relatively scarce Sm by abundant, inexpensive Ce shows utility of Cerium for permanent magnet applications while keeping most important effect of Sm – large magnetic anisotropy.
Details and next steps
Material contains 50% less Sm and 20% less Co than SmCo5, along with Cu substitution.
Easy and hard axis magnetizations were measured up to 9 T and extrapolated to their crossing point of ~30 T. The results were compared to similar single crystal measurements for SmCo5 (Figure, lower insert).
Future steps include polycrystalline work evaluating its structural, electronic and thermal characteristics, and developing coercivity.