*** 96-60771 Steinbeck This Phase I Small Business Innovation Research project will produce a new magnetic materials system which would revolutionize integrated magnetic and magnetoelectromechanical devices. The materials system uses the shape anisotropy of nanorods to engineer the magnetic properties of bulk magnetic materials. Using the shape anisotropy the magnetization of Supermalloy nanorods can be made to lie normal to the plane of a thin film. These vertically magnetized films can be used for a wide range of applications as planar integrated inductors, transformers, microwave circulators and electromagnetic cores. The nanorods are buried in an insulating matrix which will allow metallic nanorods to be useful in applications at rf frequencies by dramatically reducing eddy current losses. By adjusting the aspect ratio of the nanorods the coercive force of the rods may be varied by several orders of magnitude while leaving the remnant magnetization unaffected from the bulk material value. Phase I will demonstrate that Supermalloy nanorods can be made with the desired magnetic properties. Phase II will demonstrate that this novel materials system can be used to build engineered magnetic laminates with properties superior to bulk magnetic materials for device applications. The proposed magnetic materials have a wide range of applications in rf and power transformers as well as microwave circulators. Laminates of these materials could build a new generation of high performance magnetic components. ***
