  We have developed a fast method to design perpendicular permanent magnets for
simplifying stellarator coils based on existing codes. Coil complexity is one
of the main challenges for stellarators. To date, only electromagnetic coils
have been used to generate 3D fields for stellarators. Permanent magnets
provide an alternative way to produce the desired magnetic field for optimized
stellarators. In this paper, we revisit the concept of representing surface
current using magnetic dipoles and carry out numerical validations. A surface
magnetization is proven to be equivalent to the surface current that can be
linearly solved by existing coil design codes. An incremental multi-layer
method has been developed to obtain a practical solution that is attainable
with present permanent magnets. With this method, we can reproduce a half-Tesla
NCSX configuration using specially designed neodymium magnets together with
simple planar coils. It shows that stellarator coils could be substantially
simplified by adopting permanent magnets.
