Also called ferrite magnet. A ferrite is a ceramic material made by mixing and firing large proportions of iron(III) oxide (Fe2O3, rust) blended with small proportions of one or more additional metallic elements, such as barium, manganese, nickel, and zinc.They are electrically nonconductive, meaning that they are insulators, and ferrimagnetic, meaning they can easily be magnetized or attracted to a magnet.
Ferrite compounds are extremely low cost, being made of mostly rusted iron (iron oxide), and have excellent corrosion resistance. They are very stable and difficult to demagnetize and can be made with both high and low coercive forces. Yogoro Kato and Takeshi Takei of the Tokyo Institute of Technology synthesized the first ferrite compounds in 1930.