Synthesis of γ’-Fe₄n, a New Soft Magnetic Material for Inductors and Transformers

γ’-Fe4N has many attractive properties, such as high saturation magnetization and electrical resistivity, making it an ideal candidate to replace current magnetic materials in power electronics. Doing so would allow transformers and inductors to operate in tandem with new high frequency semiconductor switches, ultimately enabling smaller devices. However, synthesis of γ’-Fe4N is challenging, especially if bulk material is desired. Furthermore, products often contain multiple phases of iron nitride or undesirable morphology and particle size. Our efforts are focused on the synthesis of nanoscale γ’-Fe4N as these materials have been shown to exhibit high permeability and therefore low loss as frequency is increased. Efforts toward the synthesis of this material, including nitridation of nanoscale iron and electrochemical nitridation of iron wire, will be presented. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.