Mechanistic study of the effect of Ca–Sn co-doping on the microwave dielectric properties and magnetic properties of YIG

Abstract

To investigate the crystal structure, electrical properties, and magnetic properties of Ca–Sn co-doped Y3-xCaxFe5-xSnxO12 (x = 0.00–0.25 in steps of 0.05), solid-state reaction experiments, first principles calculations, and complex crystal bonding theoretical calculations were performed. The relative permittivity (εr) is strongly correlated with the average bond ionicity when Ca2+ is added. Furthermore, appropriate Sn4+ substitution significantly lowers the dielectric loss (tanδε) associated with the lattice energy. The right amount of Ca–Sn co-doping can change the saturation magnetization (4πMS) and improve the microscopic morphology of YIG, lowering the ferromagnetic resonance linewidth (ΔH) of YIG. The optimized microwave dielectric and magnetic properties are as follows: εr = 14.7, tanδε = 4.15 × 10−4, 4πMS = 1680 G, and ΔH = 53 Oe for Y2.8Ca0.2Fe4.8Sn0.2O12 sintered for 6 h at 1425 °C. Based on this material, a simple 3D model of a strip-line circulator with an insertion loss of less than 0.3 dB at each port and isolation greater than 20 dB in the 10–12 GHz range was developed, indicating the potential of the material for microwave high-frequency components such as circulators.