Stable diamagnetic self-levitation of a micro-magnet by improvement of its magnetic gradients

A disc-shaped SmCo magnet with a diameter of 0.85 mm is levitated above a graphite diamagnetic plate at a height of about 14 μm. The magnet is magnetised into a double dipole. The levitation of multipolar magnets above a diamagnetic material was suggested in 1956 by Boerdijk and patented in 1995 by Pelrine, but without any known published experimental results. In this letter, both theoretical and experimental results are presented.