Soft magnetic composites: recent advancements in the technology

Soft magnetic composites allow for revolutionized designs of electromagnetic devices to aid in improved efficiency and reduced weight and costs, without sacrificing magnetic performance. Electrically insulated core powder are formed into toroid shapes and tested for core loss and magnetic permeability, which are desired to be minimized and maximized, respectively. Ferromagnetic powder has shown the most potential as core materials, however nanocrystalline materials are highly resistive and amorphous materials have benefits of very low coercivities. Likewise, organic and inorganic coating materials have been explored for the reduction of eddy currents to improve overall core losses at higher frequencies. The balance between properties is of the utmost concern for SMC applications.