SBIR Phase I: Advanced Materials - Nanolaminate Permanent Magnets through Excimer Laser Surface Modification

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将开发纳米层状Nd-Fe-B永磁体，这种永磁体将提高其工作温度，有可能扩大其在汽车和其他领域的应用。一种先进而又经济实惠的准分子激光表面改性方法，包括沉积和退火法，将被用来获得高矫直力材料的纳米级薄膜。先进的材料创新之处在于，在纳米尺度的表层中，磁畴壁的能量将非常高，使得高温下的能量积的损失将被纳米层中增加的矫顽力所补偿，从而获得所希望的高温磁性能。第一阶段研究的产品将是一种具有不同组成的纳米层表面的原型ND-Fe-B永磁体，与竞争对手、昂贵的SmCo5相比，这将提供更好的高温性能和更低的成本(约30%)。每年ND-Fe-B磁体的市场规模约为20亿美元，如果成功，拟议中的产品有可能夺取这一市场的相当大份额。纳米层磁体可以通过增加电机、发电机、执行器、交流发电机等的温度范围、减小尺寸和重量并提高能效，从而彻底改变永磁体的设计。其社会效益包括节能、经济和环境。教育收益将为爱荷华州立大学的本科生工程专业学生提供研究经验。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop nanolaminate Nd-Fe-B permanent magnets that will increase their operating temperatures, potentially expanding their applications in automobiles and others. An advanced yet affordable excimer laser surface modification method involving deposition and annealing will be employed to achieve the nanoscale layers of higher coercivity materials. The advanced material innovation is that the energy of domain wall in the nanoscale surface layers will be so high that the loss in energy product of Nd-Fe-B at high-temperatures will be compensated for by the increased coercivity of nanolayers, resulting in the desired high-temperature magnetic performance. The product of Phase I research would be a prototype Nd-Fe-B permanent magnet with a compositionally-different nanolayered surface that in turn provides improved high-temperature performance and lower cost (about 30% less) than the competitive, expensive SmCo5. The annual market size for Nd-Fe-B magnets is about $2 billion and the proposed product, if successful, has potential to capture a sizable portion of this market. The nanolaminate magnet can revolutionize the design of permanent magnets by increasing the temperature range, reducing the size and weight and increasing energy efficiency of motors, generators, actuators, alternators, and alike. The societal benefits include energy savings, economics and environment. The educational benefit will be providing research experiences for undergraduate engineering students from Iowa State University.