Magnetic and structural properties of iron phosphate-phenolic soft magnetic composites

This work focuses on the effect of phosphate modification on the magnetic and surface properties of iron-phenolic soft magnetic composite materials. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, EDX analysis, distribution maps, X-ray diffraction pattern and density measurements show that the particles surface layer contains a thin layer of nanocrystalline/amorphous phosphate with high coverage of powders surface. Magnetic measurements show that phosphating treatment decreases the loss factor, imaginary part of permeability, increases the electrical resistivity and operating frequencies by decreasing the effective particle size. The operating frequency increases from 200 kHz for uncoated-powders samples to 1 MHz for phosphated-powders samples at optimum concentration. Phosphated iron powders that are covered by 0.7 wt% of phenolic resin exhibits lower magnetic loss and higher frequency stability. The minimum loss factor and maximum permeability at each frequency can be obtained for 0.01 g/ml orthophosphoric acid concentration in comparison with other concentrations including 0.005 and 0.04 g/ml.     

Application of nanocrystalline FeHfN soft magnetic films to power inductors

In the communications industry, miniaturization is a requirement for inductor devices. To miniaturize power inductors, high inductance is necessary. To this end, high-permeability FeHfN magnetic films are used to enhance the inductance of power inductors. These nanocrystalline FeHfN soft magnetic films, each roughly 700 nm thick, were deposited onto Si substrates using nitrogen reactive sputtering. In this study, planar sandwiched power inductors containing FeHfN films have a higher inductance than air-core power inductors. Inductance (L) of high-permeability FeHfN films is enhanced significantly by roughly 13% compared with that of air-core inductors at 5 MHz. Integrating power inductors with FeHfN films may increase extra parasitic capacitance. Moreover, the increased eddy current loss is created by the low resistivity of FeHfN films. Therefore, the quality factor (Q) of sandwiched power inductors decreases at 5 MHz. Conversely, saturation current (I_sat) of these planar sandwiched power inductors exceeds 2 A. Such planar power inductors with the high-permeability FeHfN films are a promising candidate for applications in DC-DC converters.     

Microstructure and microwave permeability of FeCo thin films with Co underlayer

Microstructure, static magnetic properties and microwave permeability of sputtered FeCo films were examined. Fe₆₀Co₄₀ films (100 nm in thickness) deposited on glass substrates exhibited in-plane isotropy and a large coercivity of 161.1 Oe. When same thickness films were deposited on 2.5 nm Co underlayer, well-defined in-plane anisotropy was formed with an anisotropy field of 65 Oe. The sample had a static initial permeability of about 285, maximum imaginary permeability of 1255 and ferromagnetic resonance frequency of 2.71 GHz. Cross-sectional TEM image revealed that the Co underlayer had induced a columnar grain structure with grain diameter of 10 nm in the FeCo films. In comparison, FeCo films without Co underlayer showed larger grains of 70 nm in diameter with fewer distinct vertical grain boundaries. In addition, the Co underlayer changed the preferred orientation of the FeCo from (1 0 0) to (1 1 0). The improvement in soft magnetic properties and microwave behavior originates from the modification of the film microstructure, which can be well understood by the random anisotropy theory.     

Annealing effects on magnetic properties of silicone-coated iron-based soft magnetic composites

This paper focuses on novel iron-based soft magnetic composites synthesis utilizing high thermal stability silicone resin to coat iron powder. The effect of an annealing treatment on the magnetic properties of synthesized magnets was investigated. The coated silicone insulating layer was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Silicone uniformly coated the powder surface, resulting in a reduction of the imaginary part of the permeability, thereby increasing the electrical resistivity and the operating frequency of the synthesized magnets. The annealing treatment increased the initial permeability, the maximum permeability, and the magnetic induction, and decreased the coercivity. Annealing at 580 °C increased the maximum permeability by 72.5%. The result of annealing at 580 °C shows that the ferromagnetic resonance frequency increased from 2 kHz for conventional epoxy resin coated samples to 80 kHz for the silicone resin insulated composites.     

Dual bands of negative refractive indexes in the planar left-handed metamaterials

A kind of planar left-handed metamaterial (LHM) with unique configurations is demonstrated, which offers an approach in building dual-band negative-index materials. Simulated and experimental results predict two left-handed transmission bands near 11.1 and 14.6 GHz. Dual bands of negative refractive indexes are verified using the retrieval procedure. Field and current distribution at the dual magnetic resonance are also examined. The effective electromagnetic parameters show that by carefully adjusting dimensions of the unit cell, electric and magnetic resonances can be coexistent at some frequency ranges with both negative permittivity and negative permeability. The idea can help us designing planar negative-index materials with multibands.     

Surface morphological changes and magnetic properties of Sc-substituted Y3Fe5O12 epitaxial films deposited on the GGG substrate

Sc-doped YIG films were grown on (1 1 1) oriented GGG crystalline substrate with disorientation angle within the range 0-25′. Sc³⁺ ion substitution was varied within the range 0.25-0.3 per formula unit. The films demonstrate different types of surface morphology versus film growth rate and substrate disorientation. Conditions for existence of these types of the surface morphology were defined. The field dependence of magnetic susceptibility at magnetization reversal in film plane and Faraday rotation at wavelength 633 nm for a magnetic field applied in perpendicular direction were measured to characterize the films grown. Films with “mirror-like” surface demonstrate a planar magnetization at room temperature.     

Effect of warm compaction on the magnetic and electrical properties of Fe-based soft magnetic composites

This paper investigates the effect of warm compaction on the magnetic and electrical properties of Fe-based soft magnetic composites at operating frequencies between 0.1 and 10 kHz. The magnetic and electrical properties of samples were measured by an LCR meter and morphology of the samples was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. It was shown that the compacted sample prepared at 800 MPa and 550 °C had the lowest magnetic loss and electrical resistivity, and highest magnetic induction and effective permeability in comparison with other samples compacted at 800 MPa and room temperature, 150, 250, 350 and 450 °C.     

Magnetic losses of the soft magnetic composites consisting of iron and Ni–Zn ferrite

Ferromagnetic powders which are surrounded by an electrically insulating film (soft magnetic composites (SMCs)) exhibit unique magnetic properties, such as relatively low magnetic losses and 3D isotropic magnetic behavior. In some electromagnetic applications, including microwave frequency range applications, it is necessary to increase electrical resistivity without any noticeable reduction in magnetic properties. To achieve this purpose, electrically resistant materials, for example, ferrites with acceptable magnetic properties, are suitable candidates. This paper focuses on the effects of the synthesized Ni–Zn ferrite addition on the magnetic properties of the SMCs containing Ni–Zn ferrite within iron particles. The structure was studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD). The microstructure and the powder morphology were examined by the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The magnetic measurements on powders and samples were carried out using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and an LCR meter, respectively. The results indicate that the lowest magnetic loss and the highest magnetic permeability are related to the composites with 20 wt% ferrite and 2 wt% ferrite, respectively. Also, the composites with 10 wt% ferrite show a good combination of magnetic loss and magnetic permeability in the range 0–500 kHz.     

Effect of post-annealing temperature on the microstructure and magnetic properties of Ce:YIG thin films deposited on Si substrates

Amorphous Ce₁Y₂Fe₅O₁₂ (Ce:YIG) thin films deposited on single crystal Si(1 0 0) and thermally oxidized Si(1 0 0) substrates by pulsed laser deposition were annealed in the temperature range of 700-1000 °C in air. The annealing temperature dependence of microstructure and magnetic properties of Ce:YIG films was studied using X-ray diffraction combined with vibrating sample magnetometer. The results show that single phase of polycrystalline Ce:YIG thin films can be obtained by the post-annealing of as-deposited films at the temperature of 700 °C. However, two steps of phase segregation of Ce:YIG occur as the post-annealing temperature increases: at first, Ce:YIG is decomposed into YIG and non-magnetic CeO₂ when annealed at 800 °C; then YIG continues to be decomposed forming Fe₂O₃ when the temperature is increased up to 900 °C. Consequently, the saturation magnetization of Ce:YIG films decreases first and then increases with the post-annealing temperature going up, which indicates that the saturation magnetization of Ce:YIG films is mainly related to the phase composition of the films. Meanwhile, the presence of SiO₂ buffer layer can significantly enhance the saturation magnetization of Ce:YIG films.     

Current density effect on magnetic properties of nanocrystalline electroplated Ni80Fe20/Cu composite wires

In developing high-sensitivity micro sensors for very weak magnetic field, extremely high permeability magnetic material is essential for the sensing element. In this study, the effect of plating current density in nanocrystalline electrodeposition of permalloy on the crystal grain size and consequently on the soft magnetic properties of the deposited layer of Ni₈₀Fe₂₀/Cu composite wire is investigated. It is found that the coercivity of the deposited Ni₈₀Fe₂₀ increases and the MI effect ratio of the Ni₈₀Fe₂₀/Cu wire decreases with increasing current density in the lower range of current density (0.6–2 A/dm²) while the opposite trend is observed as the current density range increases in a higher range (2–8 A/dm²). It seems that increasing plating current density has the effect of decreasing the crystal grain size of the plated material, resulting in lower coercivity of the plated material. This effect, due to decreased grain size, is dominating in the higher range of plating current density. However, it also has the effect of increasing residual stresses in the plated material, which is dominating in the lower range of plating current density, resulting in higher coercivity of the plated materials.     

Influence of particle size and compaction pressure on the magnetic properties of iron-phenolic soft magnetic composites

This paper investigates the effect of particle size and compaction pressure on the magnetic properties of iron-phenolic soft magnetic composites (50 Hz-1000 kHz). The results showed that the optimum amount of phenolic resin to attain maximum permeability and minimum loss factor at 10 kHz is 0.7 wt% for samples containing iron powder with average particle size ∼150 μm compacted at 800 MPa. In accordance with this resin content, at high frequencies (>300 kHz), the sample with lower particle size ∼10 μm exhibits higher magnetic permeability, higher operating frequencies and lower imaginary part of permeability. With increase in the compaction pressure, specific resistivity decreases and imaginary and real parts of permeability increase at low frequencies.     

Characteristics of thin film inductors using magnetic multilayered films with ceramic intermediate layers

Circular spiral thin film inductors were fabricated using as-deposited magnetic multilayered films with ceramic intermediate layers, and a thin film inductor with a single magnetic layer was also fabricated for comparison. The magnetic multilayered films have good soft magnetic properties and high resistivity thus can decrease the eddy current loss. Employing the magnetic multilayered films, we got a higher quality factor (>30) and better inductor characteristics as compared with the inductor with a single magnetic layer, such as a high operating frequency (>80 MHz) without decreasing the inductance.     

Microstructure and soft magnetic properties of CoFeZrO thin films

Nanogranular CoFeZrO thin films were successfully prepared by radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering in O₂/Ar atmosphere. The magnetic properties and microstructure were investigated. It is found that the Co_17.08Fe_49.76Zr_16.24O_16.91 films show the best soft magnetic properties: magnetic coercivity of 0.3 Oe; anisotropy field of 44.9 Oe; saturation magnetization of 16.8 kG; electrical resistivity of 462.8 μΩ cm. The effective permeability of the films reaches 800 and flattens up to 2 GHz.     

Characteristics of film type inductors using a FeZrBAg magnetic material

Two types of double rectangular spiral thin-film inductors with a multi-layer structure of magnetic film/conduction film/magnetic film were fabricated using a Fe_86.7Zr_3.3B₄Ag₆ thin film with high permeability and resistance, in which easy axis of magnetization of the thin-film was perpendicular or parallel to the current direction. The dependence of inductance and resonance frequency on the inductor type indicated that the perpendicular geometry inductor has higher inductance than the parallel geometry one, because spins of magnetic film align more easily along the field direction due to higher field intensity in the perpendicular geometry. However, the increase of the inductance, resulted in the decrease of resonance frequency. Then the effects of permeability of the magnetic film on inductance and resistance of the perpendicular geometry inductor were investigated. The permeability was controlled by annealing the film at different temperatures. With increasing the permeability, the inductance increased, but the resistance also increased due to the increase in magnetic core loss. As the resonance frequency was higher in air-core inductor than in magnetic thin-film core inductor, it is suggested to increase the resonance frequency which is characteristic of the air-core inductor rather than magnetic properties of the magnetic thin-film should be enhanced.     

Iron-based soft magnetic composites with Mn–Zn ferrite nanoparticles coating obtained by sol–gel method

This paper focuses on iron-based soft magnetic composites which were synthesized by utilizing Mn–Zn ferrite nanoparticles to coat iron powder. The nanocrystalline iron powders, with an average particle diameter of 20 nm, were obtained via the sol–gel method. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and distribution maps show that the iron particle surface is covered with a thin layer of Mn–Zn ferrites. Mn–Zn ferrite uniformly coated the surface of the powder particles, resulting in a reduced imaginary permeability, increased electrical resistivity and a higher operating frequency of the synthesized magnets. Mn–Zn ferrite coated samples have higher permeability and lower magnetic loss when compared with the non-magnetic epoxy resin coated compacts. The real part of permeability increases by 33.5% when compared with the epoxy resin coated samples at 10 kHz. The effects of heat treatment temperature on crystalline phase formation and on the magnetic properties of the Mn–Zn ferrite were investigated via X-ray diffraction and a vibrating sample magnetometer. Ferrites decomposed to FeO and MnO after annealing above 400 °C in nitrogen; thus it is the optimum annealing temperature to attain the desired permeability.     

磁光平面波导的单向传播特性

表面磁等离子体(surfacemagnetoplasmons,SMPs)是一种在电介质和偏置磁场作用下磁光材料界面处传播的近场电磁波.其独特的非互易传播特性引起了大量科研工作的关注,但在具体的波导结构设计上仍存在很多问题.本文研究了一种银-硅-磁光材料的3层平面波导结构,SMPs在磁光材料和硅的界面处传播,发现在特定的频率范围内,SMPs的基模及高阶模式均具有正向或反向的单向传播特性.分别计算了旋磁与旋电材料平面波导的色散方程,研究了硅层厚度与外加磁场对能带结构及SMPs单向传播区域的影响,发现无论是旋磁或旋电材料的结构,硅层厚度的增加使高阶模式使高阶模式出现在更低的频率位置,使单向传输带宽变小甚至消失,外加磁场的变大使磁光材料的能带结构频率增大的同时带隙中也引入了高阶模式.计算了2种磁光材料平面波导的正向和反向的单向传播带宽宽度,发现旋磁材料YIG的单向SMPs模式出现在GHz波段,最大单向带宽可达到2.45 GHz;旋电材料InSb的单向SMPs模式出现在THz波段,最大单向带宽达到3.9 THz.     

Annealing effect on soft magnetic properties and magnetoimpedance of Finemet Fe73.5Si13.5B9Nb3Au1 alloy

Effect of annealing on the soft magnetic properties of Fe_73.5Si_13.5B₉Nb₃Au₁ amorphous ribbon has been investigated by means of structure examination, magnetoimpedance ratio (MIR) and incremental permeability ratio (PR) spectra measured in the frequency range of 1–10 MHz at a fixed current of 10 mA X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the as-cast sample was amorphous and it became nanocrystalline under a proper heat treatment. When annealing amorphous alloy at 530 °C for 30, 60, 90 min, soft magnetic properties have been improved drastically. Among the samples investigated, the sample annealed at 530 °C for 90 min showed the softest magnetic behavior. The MIR and PR curves revealed the desirable changes in anisotropy field depending upon annealing.     

The influence of substrate temperature and annealing on the properties of pulsed laser-deposited YIG films on fused quartz substrate

Yttrium iron garnet (YIG) thin films were deposited on fused quartz substrate at different substrate temperatures (T_s) varying from room temperature (RT) to 850 °C using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. All the films in the as-deposited state were X-ray amorphous and non-magnetic at RT. The film deposited at RT after annealing at temperatures T_a?700 °C showed both X-ray peaks and the magnetic order. The films deposited at higher T_s (500–850 °C) and then annealed at 700 °C resulted in better-quality films with higher 4πM_s value. The highest value of magnetization was for the sample deposited at 850 °C and annealed at 700 °C, which is 68% of the bulk 4πM_s value.     

Effects of sintering temperature on grain growth and the complex permeability of Co0.2Ni0.3Zn0.5Fe2O4 material prepared using mechanically alloyed nanoparticles

Nanoparticle-sized Co_0.2Ni_0.3Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄ was prepared using mechanical alloying and sintering. The starting raw materials were milled in air and subsequently sintered at various temperatures from 600 to 1300 °C. The effects of sintering temperature on physical, magnetic and electrical characteristics were studied. The complex permittivity and permeability were investigated in the frequency range 10 MHz to 1.0 GHz. The results show that single phase Co_0.2Ni_0.3Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄ could not be formed during milling alone and therefore requires sintering. The crystallization of the ferrite sample increases with increasing sintering temperature; which decrease the porosity and increase the density, crystallite size and the shrinkage of the material. The maximum magnetization value of 83.1 emu/g was obtained for a sample sintered at 1200 °C, while both the retentivity and the coercivity decrease with increasing the sintering temperature. The permeability values vary with both the sintering temperature and the frequency and the absolute value of the permeability decreased after the natural resonance frequency. The real part of the permittivity was constant within the measured frequency, while the loss tangent values decreased gradually with increasing frequency.     

Thickness dependence of microwave magnetic properties in electrodeposited Fe-Co soft magnetic films with in-plane anisotropy

In this work, the thickness effect of Fe₅₂Co₄₈ soft magnetic films with in-plane anisotropy on static and microwave magnetic properties was investigated. The hysteresis loop results indicated that the static in-plane uniaxial anisotropy field increased from almost 0-60 Oe with increasing film thickness from 100 to 540 nm and well-defined in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy can be obtained as the thickness reached 540 nm or larger. Based on Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation, the microwave complex permeability spectra were analyzed and well fitted. The LLG curve-fitting results indicated that the initial permeability increased from 106 to 142 and the resonant frequency was shifted from 4.95 to 4.29 GHz as the film thickness was varied from 540 to 1500 nm. Moreover, it was found that there was a discrepancy between the static and the dynamically determined anisotropy field, which can be explained by introducing an additional effective isotropic ripple field. The decreased ripple field was suggested to result in a significant decrease of damping coefficient from 0.109 to 0.038.