X-Band Microwave Analysis and Characterization of Zinc Substituted Nickel Ferrites Prepared by Sol–Gel Citrate Route

Abstract

Structural, dielectric and electromagnetic properties of spinel ferrites Ni1 − xZnxFe2O4 have been reported in this study. Zinc substituted nickel ferrites Ni1 − xZnxFe2O4 (x = 0 to 1, Δx = 0.2) have been prepared with the sol gel citrate route with final sintering temperature of 1000°C for 8 h. The structural parameters of these ferrites are measured with the help of x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The dielectric properties of the prepared ferrites have been measured with the help of an impedance analyzer and analyzed as a function of frequency in the MHz frequency range. The electromagnetic properties of these Ni-Zn ferrites in the X-band frequencies (8.2–12.4 GHz) have been obtained from the vector network analyzer (VNA) data. A study of reflection loss (RL) revealed that a minimum RL of − 17.54 dB is achieved at 9.62 GHz with matching thickness of 3.5 mm and absorption bandwidth of 3.108 GHz.