Franklin T Plante

Title: Franklin T. Plante: Innovator in Magnetic Materials

Introduction

Franklin T. Plante is a notable inventor based in Longmont, Colorado. He has made significant contributions to the field of magnetic materials, holding 2 patents that showcase his innovative techniques and methodologies.

Latest Patents

One of his latest patents is titled "Controlled catalyst for manufacturing magnetic alloy particles." This invention provides techniques for producing unique cobalt-phosphorus (Co-P) particles. The Co-P particles produced by this technique are novel in both size and morphology. Their size is uniformly less than about 300 A, with average sizes being about 150 A. This is substantially smaller than Co-P particles previously known or reported in the literature. Their morphology is unique, as shown by x-ray and electron diffraction, in that they are amorphous. All known prior art Co-P particles have been crystalline. Additionally, these Co-P particles can be manufactured with selectively controlled magnetic coercivity. The new reaction system utilized to produce these unique materials represents a substantial departure from previously known systems. The reaction system is notable for changes in materials and procedures previously considered important or indispensable to the production of magnetic Co-P and for its ability to control the coercivity of the particles produced over a broad range as an inverse function of the concentration of the palladium cation (Pd²⁺) catalyst used. More specifically, the reaction system is extremely novel in that it is initiated at ambient rather than elevated temperatures, excludes all complexing agents from the reaction system, excludes magnetic fields of every form and magnitude during the reaction, and can provide Co-P particles of selected coercivity in the range of about 500 to 1500 oersteds as an inverse function of the Pd cation catalyst concentration utilized.

Another significant patent is the "Process for the production of magnetic materials." This invention addresses the characterization of metallic magnetic particles as suitable or unsuitable for use in high-density magnetic recording media. It has been found that metallic magnetic particles exhibiting a W/Hc of about 1.2 or less offer the most desirable magnetic recording characteristics. Using this characterization technique, it has been determined that most quantities of metallic magnetic cobalt-phosphorus particles produced by chemical reduction have W/Hc values greater than 1.2, making them unsuitable for high-density magnetic recording media. Surprisingly, it has been found that the production of cobalt-phosphorus particles by controlled chemical