Inventive Epson

Epson and Epson Group company Epson Atmix Corporation have received the Prize of the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the highest award in the regional commendations for invention, for the invention of amorphous soft magnetic alloy powder (Patent No. 6123336) at the Tohoku Regional Commendation for Invention. This is the first time that Epson Group has received an award in the Tohoku Regional Commendation for Invention. This is also the fifth time that the Epson Group has received this award at the Regional Commendation for Invention.

The Regional Commendation for Invention, which began in 1921, honours engineers and research developers who have created outstanding inventions, utility models, or designs in their respective regions. The invention that was awarded the Prize is related to an amorphous soft magnetic alloy powder with iron as the main component. The powder’s coercivity, average particle size, and tap density were optimised to achieve both high saturation magnetic flux density1 and low iron loss (low hysteresis loss and eddy current loss)2 in magnetic components with a core formed from this alloy powder.

Magnetic components using this invention have become indispensable for reducing power consumption and making electrical circuits smaller and thinner in high-performance electronic devices such as mobile phones and electric vehicles that require high-frequency and/or high-current control. They thus help to reduce environmental impact.

Prizes and winners
Prize of the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Hiroyoshi Otaka Metal Powder Production Engineering Section, Metal Powder Production Department #1, Epson Atmix Corporation

Prize for Invention Implementation Achievement
Yasunori Ogawa President and Representative Director, Chief Executive Officer, Seiko Epson Corporation
Isamu Otsuka President and Representative Director, Epson Atmix Corporation

About Epson Atmix Amorphous Soft Magnetic Alloy Powder
In 2004, Epson Atmix became the first company in the world to successfully mass-produce amorphous soft magnetic alloy powders, which are used as raw materials for various high-performance components in automobiles, smartphones, wearable devices, medical equipment, and more, using its proprietary SWAP (spinning water atomisation process)3 method.

The demand for amorphous alloy powders has been rising year after year. Unlike ordinary alloys, which have a crystalline structure where atoms are arranged in a highly ordered pattern, the atoms in amorphous alloys have an irregular structure. This structure gives amorphous alloys high magnetic flux density and low energy loss in addition to excellent high-frequency characteristics.

These characteristics make amorphous alloy powders valuable as a high-performance material that improves the performance of voltage control components in terms of low power consumption, miniaturisation, high frequency, and high current.

For further information, please visit the Epson Atmix web site at: http://www.atmix.co.jp/en/index.html