A mixing rule for predicting frequency dependence of material parameters in magnetic composites

A number of mixing rules are proposed in the literature to predict the dependence of effective material parameters (permittivity and permeability) of composites on frequency and concentration. However, the existing mixing rules for frequency dependence of permeability in magnetic composites typically do not provide satisfactory agreement with measured data. Herein, a simple mixing rule is proposed. Its derivation is based on the Bergman-Milton spectral theory. Both the Bruggeman effective medium theory and the Maxwell Garnett approximation are included as particular cases of the proposed mixing rule. The derived mixing rule is shown to predict accurately the frequency dependence of permeability in magnetic composites, which contain nearly spherical inclusions.     

Frequency dispersive complex permittivity and permeability of ferromagnetic metallic granular composite at microwave frequencies

We experimentally studied the frequency dependent complex permittivity ε and permeability μ of composite composed of carbonyl iron powder (CIP) and epoxy resin in the frequency range 1-18 GHz. We found that the intrinsic ε and μ of CIP extracted from the measured ε and μ of composites follow the classical Maxwell equations and the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation, respectively. The dependences of ε and μ of composites on the volume fraction of CIP (vf_CIP) were investigated using the two-exponent phenomenological percolation equation (TEPPE). We found that the TEPPE can fit the experimental results very well. Comparing the results of percolation parameters derived by experimental data at different frequencies, we show that the TEPPE is frequency independent for the composites at microwave frequencies. The results also show that the ε and μ spectrums of composites with definite vf_CIP can be correctly calculated by combining the TEPPE with the theoretical models of intrinsic ε and μ.     

High-frequency magnetic properties and attenuation characteristics for barium ferrite composites

High-frequency magnetic properties and attenuation characteristics for barium-ferrite/epoxy composites have been studied. The methods for increasing μ′ and μ″ and controlling f_R, including ion substitution, doping of small amount of oxides, effect of damping, as well as the modification of particle sizes and shapes, are introduced. The results show that the composites are potential candidates for use as electromagnetic (EM) attenuation materials with low reflectivity and broad bandwidth at 2-18 GHz.     

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.     

FEM analysis of magnetic flake composites

A composite comprised of layered flake-like magnetic particles embedded in an insulating medium has been proposed as a low permeability, low loss core material. This would be an alternative to “distributed air gap” compressed powder cores that are widely used for inductors in power applications. Since the lowest loss metallic materials are manufactured in the form of very thin sheets, the particles after pulverizing would be in the form of flakes. The effective permeability and average core loss have been computed for model systems of flake composites in a two-dimensional approximation. The core loss is modeled by eddy current dissipation in the low-frequency limit, where the conductor thickness is much less than the skin depth. It is found that useful values of permeability should be obtained for a modest filling fraction of magnetic material, in contrast to the powder cores which require a value close to unity. The core loss will scale as the inverse of filling fraction, with a small additional enhancement due to perpendicular field components. It is thus expected that useful core materials may be attainable without the necessity of large compaction forces.     

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.     

Effect of sintering temperature on structural and magnetic properties of NiCuZn and MgCuZn ferrites

The low temperature microwave sintered NiCuZn and MgCuZn ferrites with compositions Ni_0.35Cu_0.05Zn_0.60Fe₂O₄ and Mg_0.35Cu_0.05Zn_0.60Fe₂O₄ were synthesized by conventional mixed oxide method. NiCuZn and MgCuZn ferrite samples obtained showed better sintered densities at 950 and 900 °C, respectively. The scanning electron micrographs of both the ferrite samples appear to be very much similar. The magnitude of initial permeability of MgCuZn ferrite samples is found to be obviously higher than those of NiCuZn ferrite samples at all sintering temperatures. This is mainly due to the fact that MgCuZn ferrite has smaller magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant and magnetostrictive constant. NiCuZn ferrites have higher saturation magnetization than MgCuZn ferrites, which is due to the higher magnetic moment of NiCuZn ferrites. Our results indicate that the microwave sintering method seems to be a potential technique in the MLCI technology.     

Dielectric and magnetic properties of low-temperature fired NiCuZn-BaTiO3 composites

The composition effects on the dielectric and magnetic properties of NiCuZn-BaTiO₃ composites fired at low temperature were investigated. The coexistence of perovskite BaTiO₃ and spinel ferrite phases in the composites were observed; no significant chemical reactions occurred between BaTiO₃ and NiCuZn ceramics during sintering. The nanosized BaTiO₃ powders favored a decrease in grain size. The saturation magnetization, remanent magnetization and real permeability continuously decreased with increasing BaTiO₃ content. And the real permittivity continuously increased with the BaTiO₃ content. The Q-factor (quality factor) exhibited relatively high values with 20-30 wt% BaTiO₃. All composite materials exhibited a low dielectric loss below 100 MHz. Synthetically considerations, the composites with 20-30 wt% BaTiO₃ could obtain relatively high real permeability and real permittivity values, and the magnetic and dielectric losses were relatively low, so they were the best candidates to produce LC-integrated chip elements.     

The shape dependence of magnetic and microwave properties for Ni nanoparticles

The magnetic and microwave properties of Ni nanospheres and conical nanorods have been investigated through experimental and theoretical methods. Ni nanospheres and conical nanorods have the same crystal structure and close particle size, whereas the remanence ratio, coercivity, dynamic permeability and microwave absorbing properties show great dependence on their shape. Ni conical nanorods self-assembled into urchin-like structure have higher natural resonance frequency due to the large shape anisotropy compared to the Ni nanospheres. Supposing random spatial distribution of magnetic easy axes and using the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation associated with the Bruggeman's effective medium theory, we simulate the complex permeability of Ni nanoparticles, which agrees well with the experimental results.     

Electromagnetic and microwave absorption properties of carbonyl iron/La0.6Sr0.4MnO3 composites

In this work carbonyl iron/La_0.6Sr_0.4MnO₃ composites were prepared to develop super-thin microwave absorbing materials. The complex permittivity, permeability and microwave absorption properties are investigated in the frequency range of 8-12 GHz. An optimal reflection loss of −12.4 dB is reached at 10.5 GHz with a matching thickness of 0.8 mm. The thickness of carbonyl iron/La_0.6Sr_0.4MnO₃ absorber is thinner, compared with conventional carbonyl iron powders with the same absorption properties. The bandwidth with a reflection loss exceeding −7.4 dB is obtained in the whole measured frequency range with the thickness of 0.8 mm. The excellent microwave absorption properties are attributed to a better electromagnetic matching established by the combination of the enhanced dielectric loss and nearly invariable magnetic loss with the addition of La_0.6Sr_0.4MnO₃ nanoparticles in the composites. Our work indicates that carbonyl iron/La_0.6Sr_0.4MnO₃ composites may have an important application in wide-band and super-thin electromagnetic absorbers in the frequency range of 8−12 GHz.     

Microwave absorption behavior of a polyaniline magnetic composite in the X-band

The development of nanosized materials is a subject of considerable interest both for understanding of the fundamental properties of magnetic materials for new technological applications. Polyaniline, composites Fe₃O₄/(PANI) with conducting, magnetic and electromagnetic properties with different amounts of Fe₃O₄ were successfully prepared. The samples were structurally characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and magnetically, with a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer. In order to explore microwave-absorbing properties in X-band, the composite nanoparticles were mixed with an epoxy resin to be converted into a microwave-absorbing composite. Microwave behavior with different Fe₃O₄/(PANI)-epoxy resin ratio was studied using a microwave vector network analyzer (VNA) in the range 7.5 to 13 GHz. For a constant thickness of 1.5 mm, absorption increases with the magnetite contents in the composites and in the oriented samples by the application of a magnetic field.     

High-frequency magnetic properties and core loss of carbonyl iron composites with easy plane-like structures

To fully release the potential of wide bandgap(WBG)semiconductors and achieve high energy density and efficiency,a carbonyl iron soft magnetic composite(SMC)with an easy plane-like structure is prepared.Due to this structure,the permeability of the composite increases by 3 times(from 7.5 to 21.5)at 100 MHz compared with to the spherical carbonyl iron SMC,and the permeability changes little at frequencies below 100 MHz.In addition,the natural resonance frequency of the composite shifts to higher frequencies at 1.7 GHz.The total core losses of the composites at 10,20,and 30 m T are80.0,355.3,and 810.7 m W/cm³,respectively,at 500 k Hz.Compared with the spherical carbonyl iron SMC,the core loss at500 k Hz is reduced by more than 60%.Therefore,this kind of soft magnetic composite with an easy plane-like structure is a good candidate for unlocking the potential of WBG semiconductors and developing the next-generation power electronics.     

色散磁导率对异向介质中的调制不稳定性的影响

基于Drude模型研究了异向介质的色散磁导率对调制不稳定性的影响. 结果表明，在反常色散情形，赝五阶非线性在异向介质的负折射区中增大了调制频谱的范围及增益值，这与常规正折射介质中出现的现象正好相反；自陡峭效应在异向介质中有可能为负值，但无论正负，也无论在正折射区还是负折射区，它都抑制调制不稳定性的产生；二阶非线性色散效应在正、负折射区中分别促进和抑制调制不稳定性的产生. 在正常色散情形，由于二阶非线性色散效应的作用，使本来在常规正折射介质中不可能出现的调制不稳定性现象也能出现，这一特性为在正常色散区形成孤     

色散磁导率对异向介质中的调制不稳定性的影响

基于Drude模型研究了异向介质的色散磁导率对调制不稳定性的影响. 结果表明,在反常色散情形,赝五阶非线性在异向介质的负折射区中增大了调制频谱的范围及增益值,这与常规正折射介质中出现的现象正好相反;自陡峭效应在异向介质中有可能为负值,但无论正负,也无论在正折射区还是负折射区,它都抑制调制不稳定性的产生;二阶非线性色散效应在正、负折射区中分别促进和抑制调制不稳定性的产生. 在正常色散情形,由于二阶非线性色散效应的作用,使本来在常规正折射介质中不可能出现的调制不稳定性现象也能出现,这一特性为在正常色散区形成孤 关键词： 异向介质 调制不稳定性 色散磁导率 二阶非线性色散     

Synthesis and microwave magnetic properties of a-Fe/ferrite composites with sandwich structure

A new kind of a-Fe/ferrite composites with sandwich structure was realized by chemical reduction method, where the as-prepared W-type barium hexaferrite flake particles were subjected to a reduction treatment in hydrogen atmosphere at different temperatures. X-ray diffractometer reveals that a-Fe/Co particles precipitate in the ferrite matrix, when the reduction temperature is higher than 230 °C. With the temperature increased, the particles morphology changed into sandwich structure in hexagonal flake particles and the barium hexaferrite phase was decomposed gradually, when were completely decomposed at T=450 °C. Results show that the composites particles with sandwich structure (T=270 °C) have higher microwave complex permeability than the others.     

The dynamic behavior of magnetic fluid adsorbed to small permanent magnet in alternating magnetic field

The dynamic behavior of a magnetic fluid adsorbed to a small NdFeB permanent magnet subjected to an alternating magnetic field was studied with a high speed video camera system. The directions of alternating magnetic field are parallel and opposite to that of the permanent magnet. It was found that the surface of magnetic fluid responds to the external alternating magnetic field in elongation and contraction with a lot of spikes. Generation of a capillary magnetic fluid jet was observed in the neighbourhood of a specific frequency of alternating field. The effect of gravitational force on surface phenomena of magnetic fluid adsorbed to the permanent magnet was revealed.     

High-frequency response of nanostructured magnetic materials

This paper reports a brief overview on recent developments regarding the high-frequency response in the GHz range of nanostructured magnetic materials. Emphasis is placed on the linear regime in the frequency domain characterized by the dynamic susceptibility spectrum. Some modeling tools and experimental probes allowing determination of the dynamic susceptibility spectrum are first rapidly reviewed and their respective advantages and disadvantages are discussed. Next, some illustrative examples of the high-frequency response of nanopatterned materials based on recent works are presented. The role played by the shape of the element on the characteristics of excitation spectrum is underlined. Lastly, some prospects are proposed and promising trends are highlighted.     

Optically and non-optically excited thermography for composites: A review

Composites, such as glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) and carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), and adhesive bonding are being increasingly used in fields of aerospace, renewable energy, civil and architecture, and other industries. Flaws and damages are inevitable during either fabrication or lifetime of composites structures or components. Thus, nondestructive testing (NDT) are extremely required to prevent failures and to increase reliability of composite structures or components in both manufacture and in-service inspection. Infrared thermography techniques including pulsed thermography, pulsed phase thermography, and lock-in thermography have shown the great potential and advantages. Besides conventional optical thermography, other sources such as laser, eddy current, microwave, and ultrasound excited thermography are drawing increasingly attentions for composites. In this work, a fully, in-depth and comprehensive review of thermography NDT techniques for composites inspection was conducted based on an orderly and concise literature survey and detailed analysis. Firstly, basic concepts for thermography NDT were defined and introduced, such as volume heating thermography. Next, the developments of conventional optic, laser, eddy current, microwave, and ultrasound thermography for composite inspection were reviewed. Then, some case studies for scanning thermography were also reviewed. After that, the strengths and limitations of thermography techniques were concluded through comparison studies. At last, some research trends were predicted. This work containing critical overview, detailed comparison and extensive list of references will disseminates knowledge between users, manufacturers, designers and researchers involved in composite structures or components inspection by means of thermography NDT techniques.     

High-frequency magnetic permeability of nanocomposite film

The high-frequency magnetic permeability of nanocomposite film consisting of the single-domain spherical ferromagnetic particles in the dielectric matrix is studied. The permeability is assumed to be determined by rotation of the ferromagnetic inclusion magnetic moments around equilibrium direction in AC magnetic field. The composite is modeled by a cubic array of ferromagnetic particles. The magnetic permeability tensor is calculated by solving the Landau–Lifshits–Gilbert equation accounting for the dipole interaction of magnetic particles. The permeability tensor components are found as functions of the frequency, temperature, ferromagnetic inclusions density and magnetic anisotropy. The obtained results show that nanocomposite films could have a rather high value of magnetic permeability in the microwave range.     

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).