Application Off Rare Earth Magnets In Ge Products

Among the eleven major business units of the General Electric Company, GE Medical Systems has benefited the most from recent advancements in permanent magnet materials. The development of high-energy product rare earth-iron-boron has enabled the application of permanent magnets to MRI. With the advent of permanent magnet MRI systems medical communities that have not able to operate superconducting MRI systems, due to the cost and availability of cryogens or other limiting factors, are for the first time able to benefit from MRI diagnostic imaging technology. A limited number of other GE products have also benefited from the recent advancements in rare earth magnet technology. This paper will discuss the application of rare earth magnets in GE products, present factors that limit wider utilization, and challenges that face the material scientists and application developers.