Influence of frequency, temperature and composition on electrical properties of polycrystalline Co0.5CdxFe2.5−xO4 ferrites

Polycrystalline ferrites with general formula Co_0.5Cd_xFe_2.5−xO₄ (0.0?x?0.5) were prepared by sol-gel method. The dielectric properties ε′, ε″, loss tangent tan δ and ac conductivity σ_ac have been studied as a function of frequency, temperature and composition. The experimental results indicate that ε′, ε″, tan δ and σ_ac decrease as the frequency increases; whereas they increase as the temperature increases. These parameters are found to increase by increasing the concentration of Cd content up to x=0.2, after which they start to decrease with further increase in concentration of Cd ion. The dielectric properties and ac conductivity in studied samples have been explained on the basis of space charge polarization according to Maxwell and Wagner's two-layer model and the hoping between adjacent Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ as well as the hole hopping between Co³⁺and Co²⁺ ions at B-sites. The values of activation energies E_f for conduction process are determined from Arrhenius plots, and the variations in these activation energies as a function of Cd content are discussed. The complex impedance analysis is used to separate the grain and grain boundary of the system Co_0.5Cd_xFe_2.5−xO₄. The variations of both grain boundary and grain resistances with temperature and composition are evaluated in the frequency range 42 Hz-5 MHz.     

AC conductivity and dielectric properties of bulk tungsten trioxide (WO3)

AC conductivity and dielectric properties of tungsten trioxide (WO₃) in a pellet form were studied in the frequency range from 42 Hz to 5 MHz with a variation of temperature in the range from 303 K to 463 K. AC conductivity, σ_ac(ω) was found to be a function of ω^s where ω is the angular frequency and s is the frequency exponent. The values of s were found to be less than unity and decrease with increasing temperature, which supports the correlated barrier hopping mechanism (CBH) as the dominant mechanism for the conduction in WO₃. The dielectric constant (ε′) and dielectric loss (ε″) were measured. The Cole–Cole diagram determined complex impedance for different temperatures.     

Complex permittivity,complex permeability and microwave absorption properties of ferrite–polymer composites

The complex permittivity (ε′–jε″), complex permeability (μ′–jμ″) and microwave absorption properties of ferrite–polymer composites prepared with different ferrite ratios of 50%, 60%, 70% and 80% in polyurethane (PU) matrix have been investigated in X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz) frequency range. The M-type hexaferrite composition BaCo⁺²_0.9Fe⁺²_0.05Si⁺⁴_0.95Fe⁺³_10.1O₁₉ was prepared by solid-state reaction technique, whereas commercial PU was used to prepare the composites. At higher GHz frequencies, ferrite's permeabilities are drastically reduced, however, the forced conversion of Fe⁺³ to Fe⁺² ions that involves electron hopping, could have increased the dielectric losses in the chosen composition. We have measured complex permittivity and permeability using a vector network analyzer (HP/Agilent model PNA E8364B) and software module 85071. All the parameters ε′, ε″, μ′ and μ″ are found to increase with increased ferrite contents. Measured values of these parameters were used to determine the reflection loss at various sample thicknesses, based on a model of a single-layered plane wave absorber backed by a perfect conductor. The composite with 80% ferrite content has shown a minimum reflection loss of −24.5 dB (>99% power absorption) at 12 GHz with the −20 dB bandwidth over the extended frequency range of 11–13 GHz for an absorber thickness of 1.6 mm. The prepared composites can fruitfully be utilized for suppression of electromagnetic interference (EMI) and reduction of radar signatures (stealth technology).     

Structural and electrical properties of nanometric Ni-Cu ferrites synthesized by citrate precursor method

Nanometric nickel copper ferrites Ni_1−xCu_xFe₂O₄, 0≤x≤0.45 were prepared by the citrate precursor method. X-ray diffraction measurements confirm the formation of single phase cubic spinel structure. The lattice parameter (a) is increased with increasing Cu²⁺ ion substitution. The crystallite size was calculated from XRD data and compared with that obtained from TEM micrographs. A significant increase in the density is observed with increasing Cu content. The IR absorption spectra were used for the detection and confirmation of the chemical bonds in spinel ferrites. The dielectric constant ε′ and dielectric loss showed a decrease with increasing frequency for all samples. The decrease in the ac conductivity was ascribed to the increase in hopping length.     

Structure, electric and dielectric studies of indium-substituted magnesium copper manganese ferrites

The structure, electric and dielectric properties of In-substituted Mg-Cu-Mn ferrites having the general formula of Mg_0.9Cu_0.1Mn_0.1In_xFe_1.9−xO₄ with 0.0≤x≤0.4 have been studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the samples indicated the formation of single-phase cubic spinel structure up to 0.2 and mixed phase (cubic and tetragonal phase) for samples x≥0.3. The relation of conductivity with temperature revealed a semiconductor to semimetal behavior as In⁺³ concentration increases. Variation in the universal exponent s with temperature indicates the presence of two hopping conduction mechanisms: the correlated barrier hopping (CHB) at low In⁺³ content x≤0.1 and small-polaron (SP) hopping at In⁺³ content x≥0.2. The variation in dielectric permittivity (ε′, ε″) with temperature at different frequencies shows a normal behavior for the studied compounds, while the variation in dielectric loss tangent with frequency at different temperatures shows abnormal behavior with more than relaxation peak. The conduction mechanism used in the present study has been discussed in the light of electron exchange between Fe³⁺ and Fe²⁺ ions and hole hopping between Mn²⁺ and Mn³⁺ ions at the octahedral B-sites.     

Spectroscopic investigations and electrical properties of PVA/PVP blend filled with different concentrations of nickel chloride

Films of PVA/PVP blend (50/50) filled with different concentrations of NiCl₂ were prepared by casting method. The prepared films were investigated by different techniques. XRD scans demonstrated that the peak intensity at 2θ≈20° decreased and the band width increased with increase in the concentrations of NiCl₂ content, which implied decrease in the degree of crystallization and hence causes increase in the amorphous region. UV-vis analysis revealed that the values of the optical band gap are affected with increase in NiCl₂ content. This indicates the formation of charge transfer complexes between the polymer blend and the filler. The rise of conductivity is significant with increased concentration of NiCl₂ filler; this reveals an increase in degree of amorphosity. AC conductivity (σ_ac) behavior of all the prepared films was investigated over the frequency range 42 Hz-5 MHz and under different isothermal stabilization in the temperature range 313-393 K. It suggests that the hopping mechanism might be playing an important role in the conduction process in high frequency region. The dielectric behavior was analyzed using dielectric permittivity (ε´, ε″) dielectric loss tangent (tan δ) and electric modulus (M″). The decrease in dielectric permittivity was observed with increase in the concentration of NiCl₂ filler. This suggests the role of NiCl₂ as filler to improve the electrical conductivity of PVA/PVP blend.     

Complex permittivity, permeability and wide band microwave absorbing property of La substituted U-type hexaferrite

Polycrystalline samples of U-type hexaferrite series: (Ba_1−3xLa_2x)₄Co₂Fe₃₆O₆₀ with 0.10≤x≤0.20 in step of 0.05, are prepared by conventional solid state reaction route. Partial substitution of Ba²⁺ ions with La³⁺ ions enhances the electron hopping and reduces the magnetic interaction in the samples over the entire X-band frequencies; leading to wide band microwave absorption in all sample. Relative complex permittivity (ε_r=ε′−jε″) and permeability (μ_r=μ′−jμ″) of the prepared samples were measured using Vector Network Analyzer (VNA, Agilent PNA-L N5230A) for X-band (8.2-12.4 GHz) frequency range. The maximum absorption of 99.8% was obtained for x=0.10 sample for thickness t_m=1.8 mm and all sample showed absorption ≥96%. The reflection loss (R_L) calculated using the measured parameter (ε_r=ε′−jε″ and μ_r=μ′−jμ″) shows good agreement when compared with the return loss measured directly using VNA for sample x=0.20. The material can be expected to find relevance in suppression of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and reduction of radar signatures.     

Complex permittivity and complex permeability of Sr ions substituted Ba ferrite at X-band

M-type hexagonal ferrite composition, Ba_(1−x)Sr_xFe₁₂O₁₉ (x=0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0), was prepared by a two route ceramic method. Complex permittivity (ε′−jε″) and complex permeability (μ′−jμ″) have been measured using a network analyzer from 8.2 to 12.4 GHz X-ray diffraction confirmed the M-type hexagonal structure and a scanned electron micrograph was used to analyze the grain size distribution of ferrite. Substitution of Sr²⁺ ions causes an increase in porosity that deteriorates the electromagnetic and microstructural properties in the doped samples. Both dielectric constant and dielectric loss are enhanced in comparison to the permeability and magnetic loss over the entire frequency region. This is due to a resistivity variation and the formation of Fe²⁺ ions, which increases the hopping mechanism between Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions.     

Effect of rare earth radius and concentration on the structural and transport properties of doped Mn–Zn ferrite

Dielectric constant (ε′), AC conductivity (σ), and seebeck coefficient (S) have been measured for the ferrite samples of the general formula Mn_0.5Zn_0.5R_yFe₂O₄; where R=Dy, Gd, Sm, Ce, and La prepared by standard ceramic technique and sintered at 1200 °C with a heating rate 4 °C/min. X-ray diffractograms show that all samples posses the spinel structure with the appearance of small peaks representing secondary phases. There is a lowering in the porosity starting after Sm-doped samples due to the presence of the secondary phases, which limits the grain growth. Due to seebeck measurements the manganese–zinc (Mn–Zn) ferrite doped with the rare earth has been classified as P-type semiconductors. It is possible to increase the electrical resistivity by using a small quantity of Dy³⁺ ions substitutions owing to the structural heterogeneity generated by the insulating intergranular layers. The isolation of the grains is the most promising approaches for further reduction in the eddy current losses at the operating frequencies.     

Electrical conductivity and complex electric modulus of titanium doped nickel-zinc ferrites

The samples Ni_1+x−yZn_yTi_x Fe_2−2xO₄; y=0.1, 0.0≤x≤0.5 were prepared in a single-phase spinel structure as indicated from X-ray analysis. Electrical conductivity and dielectric measurements at different temperatures from 300 K to 600 K in the frequency range from 42 Hz to 5 MHz have been analyzed. The relation of conductivity with temperature revealed a semiconductor to semimetallic behavior as Ti⁴⁺ concentration increases. The conduction mechanism depends mainly on the valence exchange between the different metal ions in the same site or in different sites. The dielectric constant as a function of temperature and frequency showed that there is a strong dependence on the compositional parameter x. The electrical modulus has been employed to study the relaxation dynamics of charge carriers. The result indicates the presence of correlation between motions of mobile ion charges. The activation energies extracted from M′(ω) and M″(ω) peaks are found to follow the Arrhenius law. The electrical conductance of the samples found to be dependent on the temperature and frequency.     

Influence of V2O5 ion addition on the conductivity and grain growth of Ni–Zn–Cu ferrites

Polycrystalline nickel–zinc–copper ferrites with chemical formula Ni_0.6+xZn_0.2Cu_0.2V_xFe_2−2xO₄,(0.0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.25) were prepared by the ceramic route. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the samples results confirms single-phase spinel structure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the prepared ferrites reveal that vanadium addition resulted in a rapid grain growth with large pores trapped inside the grains as the vanadium concentration increases. The ac conductivity σ_ac has been studied as a function of frequency and temperature over the temperature range (300–600 K). The results obtained for these materials reveal a semiconductor – to semimetal transition as V⁵⁺ content increases. All studies composition exhibit a transition with change in the slope of conductivity. The obtained temperature T_c is found to be decrease with the increasing vanadium content. The hopping of electrons between Fe³⁺ and Fe²⁺ as well as the hole hopping between Ni³⁺ and Ni²⁺ are found to responsible for the conduction mechanism. The relation of the universal exponent s with temperature gives evidence for the presence of the correlation barrier hopping (CHB) mechanism in these compounds. The impedance technique has been used to study effect of grain and grain boundary on the electrical properties. The analysis data show only one semi-circle for all samples except for sample with x = 0.05. The results suggested that the conduction mechanism takes place predominantly through the grain in the studied samples.     

Influence of mobile space charges on electrical properties of ferroelectric Bi3.5La0.5Ti3O12 thin films

Lanthanum-substituted bismuth titanate, Bi_3.5La_0.5Ti₃O₁₂ (i.e., x=0.5 in Bi_4−xLa_xTi₃O₁₂), thin films have been grown on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates using pulsed laser deposition. The frequency dependence of the real part ε′(ω) and the imaginary part ε″(ω) of the dielectric constant has been studied. The ε′(ω) does not show any sudden change within the frequency range of 10²-10⁶ Hz. In contrast, the ε″(ω) shows a large dispersion as frequency decreases. The observed relaxation behavior in ε″(ω) can be explained in terms of a migration of oxygen vacancies in (Bi₂O₂)²⁺ layers, not in Bi₂Ti₃O₁₀ perovskite layers.     

Structural and electrical properties of Cu doped NiFe2O4 nanoparticles prepared through modified citrate gel method

Nanoparticles of polycrystalline NiFe_2−xCu_xO₄ (0.0≤x≤0.05) ferrites were prepared through the modified citrate-gel method. The samples were obtained as dried gel after the successful chemical reaction of their respective metal nitrate solutions in the midst of citric acid as catalyst. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and selective area electron diffraction (SAED) confirmed the single phase nature of all the samples with an average particle size of 19.8 (±1). Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) shows the presence of two broad vibrational bands between 400 and 1000 cm⁻¹ corresponding to the tetrahedral and the octahedral sites. The variation of dielectric properties (ε′, ε″, tan δ) and ac conductivity (σ_ac), with frequency reveals that the dispersion is due to the Maxwell–Wagner type of interfacial polarization in general and due to hopping of charges between Fe⁺² and Fe⁺³ as well as between Ni⁺² and Ni⁺³ ions at B-sites. The complex impedance spectroscopy has been used to study the effect of grain and grain boundary on the electrical properties of all the ferrite nanoparticles.     

Synthesis, magnetic and dielectric properties of Er-Ni doped Sr-hexaferrite nanomaterials for applications in High density recording media and microwave devices

A sol-gel combustion method has been successfully employed for the synthesis of Sr-hexaferrite nanomaterials doped with Er³⁺ and Ni²⁺ at strontium and iron sites, respectively. The X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the single magnetoplumbite phase and the crystallite size was found to be in the range of 14-16 nm, suitable for obtaining signal-to-noise ratio in the high density recording media. The magnetic properties such as saturation magnetization (M_s), remanence (M_r) and coercivity (H_c) were calculated from hysteresis loops. M_s, M_r and H_c are observed to increase with the Er-Ni content. The dielectric constant (ε´) and dielectric loss (tan δ) is found to decrease with the increase in frequency and is explained on the basis of Maxwell-Wagner and Koops theory. The decrease in dielectric constant and dielectric loss but increase in saturation magnetization and remanence with Er-Ni content suggests that the materials are suitable for applications in microwave devices and high density recording media .     

Magnetoresistance and electron paramagnetic resonance study of La0.67−yYyBa0.33MnO3/LaAlO3 thin films

Magnetoresistive La_0.67−yY_yBa_0.33MnO₃/LaAlO₃ thin films were prepared by the sol-gel spin-coating method. Our resistivity and the electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements indicate that the main factor determining the metal-insulator transition temperature T_m is the cation disorder represented by the cation radii variance σ², and that ferromagnetic insulating regions coexist in the ferromagnetic metallic phase. In the paramagnetic phase, the dissociation energy of spin clusters and the polaron hopping energy obtained from the ESR intensity and linewidth also displayed a prominent dependence on σ². Polaron localization due to Jahn-Teller distortions appears to be responsible simultaneously for the decrease in the ferromagnetic order and for the increase in the orbital order.     

Finite size effect and influence of temperature on electrical properties of nanocrystalline Ni–Cd ferrites

Electrical conductivity and dielectric measurements have been investigated for four different average grain sizes ranging from 3 to 7 nm of nanocrystalline Ni_0.2Cd_0.3Fe_2.5−xAl_xO₄ (0.0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.5) ferrites. The impedance spectroscopy technique has been used to study the effect of grain and grain boundary on the electrical properties of the Al doped Ni–Cd ferrites. The analysis of data shows only one semi-circle corresponding to the grain boundary volume suggesting that the conduction mechanism takes place predominantly through grain boundary volume in the studied samples. The variation of impedance properties with temperature and composition has been studied in the frequency range of 120 Hz–5 MHz between the temperatures 300–473 K. The hopping of electrons between Fe³⁺ and Fe²⁺ as well as hole hopping between Ni³⁺ and Ni²⁺ ions at octahedral sites are found to be responsible for conduction mechanism. The dielectric constant and loss tangent (tan δ) are found to decrease with increasing frequency, whereas they increase with increasing temperature. The dielectric constant shows an anomalous behavior at selected frequencies, while the temperature increases, which is expected due to the generation of more electrons and holes as the temperature increases. The behavior has been explained in the light of Rezlescu model.     

Energy resolved imaging with a stratified phosphor detector

Polycrystalline solid state solutions of Ba_ySr_1 − yCl₂ have been produced; these adopt the cubic fluorite phase for y ≤ 0.30. The cubic structure minimizes optical scattering from grain boundaries, and so for y ≤ 0.30 the materials are transparent, a key advantage for ceramic scintillators and phosphors. The substitution of Sr²⁺ ions with Ba²⁺ ions has the advantage that it substantially increases the x-ray absorption coefficient with respect to pure SrCl₂. Additional doping with rare earth ions such as Sm²⁺ and Eu²⁺ gives bright x-ray phosphor materials. The Sm or Eu-doped materials show a broad 4f⁵5 d¹ → 4f⁶ emission peaked at 685 nm or a broad 4f⁶5 d¹ → 4f⁷ emission peaked at 406 nm respectively. These materials have been tested as x-ray phosphors and the spatial resolution was determined to be at least 6 LP/mm, whilst the x-ray radioluminescence intensity is around 40% that of the commercial x-ray phosphor Gd₂O₂S:Tb. A stratified phoswich structure, comprising Eu and Sm-doped layers of Ba_ySr_1 − yCl₂ was produced in which the relative intensities of the two emissions varies with x-ray beam energy; this can be used for energy discrimination in imaging by way of emission spectra as opposed to the more commonly used pulse shape discrimination. A dual energy imaging technique based on these bi-layered structures and utilizing a semi-professional grade digital SLR camera is described and composition-sensitive imaging has been demonstrated.     

Microstructure characterization and magnetic behavior of NiAlxFe2−xO4 and Ni1−yMnyAl0.2Fe1.8O4 ferrites

NiAl_xFe_2−xO₄ and Ni_1−yMn_yAl_0.2Fe_1.8O₄ ferrites were prepared by the conventional ceramic method and were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and magnetic measurements. The single spinel phase was confirmed for all prepared samples. A proper explanation of data is possible if the Al³⁺ ions are assumed to replace Fe³⁺ ions in the A and B sites simultaneously for NiAl_xFe_2−xO₄ ferrites, and if the Mn²⁺ ions are assumed to replace Ni²⁺ ions in the B sites for Ni_1−yMn_yAl_0.2Fe_1.8O₄ ferrites. Microstructural factors play an important role in the magnetic behavior of Ni_1−yMn_yAl_0.2Fe_1.8O₄ ferrites with large Mn²⁺ content.     

Dielectric characterization of semiconducting ZnPc films sandwiched between Gold or Aluminum electrodes

The dependencies of complex dielectric functions (the dielectric constant, ε ₁, and the dielectric loss, ε ₂), on frequency and temperature of zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) thin films sandwiched between either gold or aluminum Ohmic-electrode contacts have been investigated in the temperature range of 93–470 K and frequency range 0.1–20 kHz. It is found that both values of ε ₁ and ε ₂ decrease with increasing frequency and increase with decreasing temperature. The rate of change depends greatly on the temperature and frequency ranges under consideration. Around room temperature, neither ε ₁ nor ε ₂ show any appreciable change through the whole range of frequencies. Thus, the dielectric dispersion is found to include of both dipolar and interfacial polarizations. The dependencies of both dielectric functions on frequency at different temperatures were found to follow a universal power law of the form ω ⁿ , where the index 0<n≤?1. This indicates that the correlated barrier hopping (CBH) model is a suitable mechanism to describe the dielectric behavior in ZnPc films. Furthermore, the results of the dielectric response indicate that polarization in these films could be in the form of non-Debye polarization. However, the Debye polarization can be traced below room temperature. The obtained results of the relaxation-time, τ, dependency on temperature have shown that a thermally-activated process may be dominated in ZnPc thin films conduction at high temperatures. Partial phase transition (from α- to β-phase) has been observed around 400 K in molecular relaxation-time, τ, and optical dielectric constant, ε _∞. Arrhenius behavior has been observed for all the dielectric loss and conductivity relaxation-times above room temperature and their activation energies are explained and reported. The optical dielectric constant ε _∞ was found to increase with temperature.     

Dielectric parameters in Se70Te30 and Se70Te28Zn2 chalcogenide glasses

Temperature and frequency dependence of dielectric constant (ε′) and dielectric loss (ε″) are studied in glassy Se₇₀Te₃₀ and Se₇₀Te₂₈Zn₂. The measurements have been made in the frequency range (8-500 kHz) and in the temperature range 300 to 350 K. An analysis of the dielectric loss data shows that the Guintini's theory of dielectric dispersion based on two-electron hopping over a potential barrier is applicable in the present case.No dielectric loss peak is observed in glassy Se₇₀Te₃₀. However, such loss peaks exist in the glassy Se₇₀Te₂₈Zn₂ in the above frequency and temperature range. The Cole-Cole diagrams have been used to determine some parameters such as the distribution parameter (α), the macroscopic relaxation time (τ₀), the molecular relaxation time (τ) and the Gibb's free energy for relaxation (ΔF).