What is High Purity Iron

5G technology promises lightning-fast speeds and seamless connectivity, but its performance hinges on a component most people never see: the magnetic core in base station antennas. These cores need to handle high-frequency signals (24–40GHz) without losing power or causing interference—and SLH Armco Iron has become the gold standard for meeting these demands, outperforming generic magnetic steels and ferrite cores.

Armco Iron is a specialized low-carbon, high-purity magnetic material, and SLH’s version takes this to the next level. With a purity of 99.9% Fe and carbon content ≤0.01%, SLH Armco Iron minimizes “magnetic loss” at high frequencies. Magnetic loss occurs when a material absorbs part of the magnetic signal as heat, weakening the antenna’s output and creating interference. At 2GHz (a key 5G sub-6GHz band), SLH Armco Iron has a core loss of just 45 W/kg, compared to 200 W/kg for generic magnetic steel and 150 W/kg for ferrite. This means more of the signal reaches users, and less energy is wasted on cooling the antenna.

A major telecom company recently deployed SLH Armco Iron cores in 500 urban base stations, replacing their old ferrite cores. The results were transformative: signal coverage expanded by 18%, and interference in dense areas (like downtown districts) dropped by 32%. This was a game-changer for users, who reported fewer dropped calls and faster data speeds. For the telecom, it meant fewer base stations were needed to cover the same area—cutting infrastructure costs by 22%.

SLH Armco Iron also excels at handling high power, a critical requirement for 5G. 5G base stations transmit more data than 4G, so their antennas need cores that can handle higher magnetic flux without “saturating” (a point where the core can no longer hold more flux, causing sudden signal drops). SLH Armco Iron has a saturation 磁感应 strength of 1.95T, compared to 1.6T for ferrite and 1.8T for generic magnetic steel. This extra headroom means the antenna can maintain consistent performance even during peak usage times (like evening rush hour), when data traffic spikes.

Size is another advantage. Urban 5G base stations are often installed on lampposts or building rooftops, where space is limited. SLH Armco Iron’s high magnetic permeability (6,000 mH/m at 50Hz) allows manufacturers to make cores 30% smaller than ferrite cores while maintaining the same performance. The telecom company used this to reduce antenna size by 25%, making it easier to secure permits for urban installations.

For 5G to live up to its promise, every component must be optimized—and SLH Armco Iron delivers the reliability, efficiency, and compactness that base station antennas need. As 5G expands to rural areas and industrial settings, SLH’s commitment to quality will ensure that even the most remote users get the fast, consistent connectivity they expect.