Fujitsu paves the way to developing magnetic materials which do not rely on heavy rare earth elements

Fujitsu today announced the development of a new technology for simulating magnetization reversal and has used the K computer to perform huge calculations to successfully conduct the world’s first simulation of the magnetization-reversal process in a permanent magnet. This opens up new possibilities in the manufacture of electric motors, generators and other devices without relying on heavy rare earth elements.The process of magnetization reversal has been a subject of scientific study, but the huge volume of calculations required to accurately model magnetic materials has made it difficult to simulate that process.


Fujitsu developed a magnetic simulation technology that combines a finite-element method with micromagnetics. This technology makes it possible to compute magnetization processes of magnetic materials with complex microstructures on a nanometer (nm) scale, which is many times smaller than conventional technology can manage, by executing enormous computations on a supercomputer using a massively parallel computing technique. This combination technology paves the way toward R&D advances in new magnetic materials, including strong magnets free from heavy rare earth elements.