High electrical resistance hot-pressed NdFeB magnet for low loss motors

Fluoride-coated hot-pressed NdFeB magnets with electrical resistivity of 1.4 m Omega cm, which is ten times larger than that of a noncoated sintered NdFeB magnet, were prepared using fluoride coating powders. The high resistive NdFeB magnets consist of coated powders and are sintered with a neodymium fluoride layer, which was grown using a fluoride solution. No degradation of coercivity was observed in the fluoride coated NdFeB powders. The increase in magnet temperature caused by an alternating magnetic field (Eddy currents) was eightfold with the use of a fluoride-treated magnet. Furthermore, the increase in temperature at the magnet's rotor was reduced by 50% when the high resistive hot-pressed magnet was substituted for the conventional commercial magnet. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.