Optical Properties of Spin-Deposited Nanocrystalline Ni-Zn Ferrite Thin Films Processed by Sol-Gel

Abstract

Nano crystalline Zn-substituted Ni ferrite films with compositions of Ni1−xZnxFe2O4 (x = 0.25, 0.50, 0.75) were synthesized by sol–gel spin coating method. The synthesized films were characterized for their structural, morphology, optical, electric, and magnetic properties using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, UV-Vis spectrometer, two probe resistivity, and vibrating sample magnetometer techniques, respectively. The corresponding results indicate that zinc content has significant effect on physical, magnetic, and optical properties of the ferrite. X-ray diffraction studies of thin films showed that the samples have pure cubic spinel phase. The crystallite size is of the nanoparticles estimated using Debey-Scherrer’s method was found to be in the range of 10.27 to 14.97 nm. The lattice parameter was found to be increased from 8.35 to 8.40 A with increasing Zn2+ contents. The morphology of the thin films depicted the formation of well-developed nano-sized clusters with homogeneous and agglomerated. The optical absorption seen to be affected due to the presence of Zn in Ni-Zn ferrite thin films. Ni-Zn ferrite thin films possess small coercivity and remnant magnetization, which indicates the soft magnetic nature of the material. Electrical resistivity of the films decreases with increasing temperature, suggesting the semiconducting nature of the samples.