Multiferroic properties of Ni₀.₅Zn₀.₅Fe₂O₄–Pb(Zr₀.₅₃Ti₀.₄₇)O₃ ceramic composites

Abstract

We present a powder-in-sol precursor hybrid processing route to synthesize dense, homogenous, and fine-grained Ni₀.₅Zn₀.₅Fe₂O₄–Pb(Zr₀.₅₃Ti₀.₄₇)O₃ (NZFO–PZT) multiferroic ceramic composites and report their ferromagnetic-ferroelectric characteristics. Nanosized NZFO ferromagnetic powders are dispersed into PZT ferroelectric sol-gel precursor and uniformly distributed slurry is prepared by ball-milling mixing of the powder-precursor suspension prior to be sintered at low temperatures to form the composites. The composites show simultaneous effects of ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity at room temperature with excellent magnetic and dielectric properties for frequencies over 10 MHz. The coexistence of inductive and capacitive natures in the composites favors size reduction and design simplification in many passive electronic devices such as integrated filters and microwave absorbers.