Rare earth permanent magnets could enable smaller, higher-performance motors and power generators. Cutting the cost of producing the powerful magnets could usher in a new breed of hybrid automobiles using smaller, cheaper motors. Space and aircraft applications are also possible. The rub is that they require an expensive, multi-step process to fabricate. Now, Northeastern University researchers claim to have invented a cheap, green, one-step process for creating samarium cobalt permanent magnets. Samarium cobalt magnets -- the strongest of the rare earth magnetic materials -- could be manufactured using recyclable chemicals using a scalable for high-volume process and at a fraction of their current cost.
Text: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=209903228
