A well-known iron-based magnet is also a potential quantum information materialScientists pursuing b

A well-known iron-based magnet is also a potential quantum information materialScientists pursuing better performance in a well-known type of iron-based magnet also discovered wide-gap semiconducting behavior and a quantum state useful for quantum information processing—all in a single low-cost material that has been in existence for decades.Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute, or CMI, study ways to make lower-cost, easier-to-obtain materials used as ingredients in technologies that are in demand now or are developing for the future. In this case, the researchers were investigating ways to create a stronger iron-based permanent magnet, something referred to as a “gap” magnet.Permanent magnets fall into two broad categories. The strongest-performing permanent magnets contain rare-earth metals like samarium, neodymium, and dysprosium—their properties make them the best and often only choice for applications like computer hard disk drives and motors in hybrid and electric vehicles. These magnets are typically expensive, and their rare-earth components can be difficult to obtain. The second, iron-based permanent magnets, are inexpensive and made of readily available materials, but their performance is often too poor for many advanced applications. In between the high performing rare-earth magnets and low-performing iron-based magnets is a “gap,” where there is a great need for permanent magnets that perform in the mid-range of desirable properties. Filling that gap reduces the need for rare-earth magnets, and in turn hard to source rare-earth materials.Read more. -- source link

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