Magnetoelectric properties in bulk and layered composites
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper was to present a comparative study on the microstructure and magnetoelectric effect of new magnetoelectric composites based on TbFe2 compound and Ni0.3Zn0.62Cu0.08Fe2O4, CoFe2O4 ferrites as a magnetostrictive phase, Pb(Fe1/2Ta1/2)O3 (PFT), Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3 relaxors as a ferroelectric phase and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as piezoelectric phase.
Design/methodology/approach
The ceramic components of composites were prepared by the standard solid-state reaction method. The intermetallic compound TbFe2 was prepared with an arc melting system with a contact-less ignition in a high purity argon atmosphere. The metal – ceramic – polymer composites were prepared in a container in which powder of PVDF were dissolved in N,N-dimethylformamide with continuous mixing and at the controlled temperature. Ceramic composites were prepared as bulk samples and multilayer tape cast and co-sintered laminates. The microstructure of the composites was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The magnetoelectric effect of the composites was evaluated at room temperature by means of the dynamic lock-in method.
Findings
SEM analysis revealed a dense, fine-grained microstructure and uniform distribution of the metallic, ferrite and relaxor grains in the bulk composites. The SEM image for multilayer composite illustrates the lack of cracks or delaminations at the phase boundaries between the well-sintered ferrite and relaxor layers. For all studied composites, the magnetoelectric coefficients at a lower magnetic field increase, reaches a maximum and then decreases.
Originality/value
The progress in electronic technology is directly linked to advances made in materials science. Exploring and characterizing new materials with interesting magnetoelectric properties, in the rapidly growing field of functional materials, is an important task. The paper reports on processing, microstructure and magnetoelectric properties of novel magnetoelectric composites.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work has been co-financed from the budget for science in the years 2013-2015 by Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, project no. IP2012 029772 and by the Polish National Science Centre under grant No UMO-2013/11/D/ST5/02990.
Citation
Guzdek, P. and Wzorek, M. (2015), "Magnetoelectric properties in bulk and layered composites", Microelectronics International, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 110-114. https://doi.org/10.1108/MI-01-2015-0012
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited