Permanent-magnet materials: Research directions and opportunities

Permanent magnets are pervasive in modern industrial societies. They enable conversion of electrical energy to mechanical energy, they underlie microwave communications, and they constitute the active material in data-storage devices. To sustain the evolution of new and improved permanent-magnet materials, an active research enterprise is required. In this paper, the status of modern rare earth-transition metal magnets is outlined, contemporary research directions are summarized, and unresolved issues and research opportunities are enumerated.