Increasing Indium Content Research Articles

Magnetocaloric and Magnetostrictive Properties of the Tb(Co,In)<sub>2</sub> Laves Phases

Multicomponent polycrystalline TbInxCo2–x (with х = 0–0.2) solid solutions are prepared for the first time, and their crystal structure and magnetic, magnetocaloric, and magnetostrictive properties are studied. X-ray diffraction patterns taken at room temperature demonstrate mainly the presence of the cubic C15 Laves phase in all samples. As the indium content increases to x = 0.1, the lattice parameter is found to increase; the further increase in the indium content to х = 0.2 leads to a decrease in the lattice parameter. In this case, the Curie temperature TC monotonically increases to 245 K. The isotheral magnetic entropy change ΔSmag is calculated in accordance with magnetic measurements using the thermodynamic Maxwell’s relation. At a magnetic field change from 0 to 1.8 T, the maximum entropy change monotonically decreases and, for composition with x = 0.2, is 1.8 J/(kg∙К). As the indium content increases to x = 0.05, the volume magnetostriction increases. The further increase in the indium concentration leads to the decrease in the peak values and their shift to high temperatures.

Spatial and time-resolved properties of emission enhancement in polar/semi-polar InGaN/GaN by surface plasmon resonance

Abstract Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are widely used as next-generation light sources because of their various advantages. However, their luminous efficiency is remarkably low at the green-emission wavelength. The luminous efficiencies of InGaN/GaN quantum wells (QWs) significantly decrease with increasing indium content in the green wavelength region, mainly owing to the quantum-confined Stark effect (QCSE). This green gap problem can be solved using QWs grown on semi-polar GaN substrates, such as the {11–22} planes, to reduce the QCSE. We propose that the use of surface plasmons (SPs) is a promising way to improve the light emission efficiency of light-emitting materials such as InGaN/GaN QWs. SP resonance increases the spontaneous emission rates of the excited states, causes a relative reduction in non-radiative relaxation, and ultimately increases the internal quantum efficiencies. In this study, the light emissions of InGaN/GaN QWs grown on polar and semi-polar GaN were investigated using micro-photoluminescence (PL). We successfully enhanced the light emission of semi-polar GaN via SP resonance. The PL peak intensities and wavelengths were mapped and compared to determine the underlying mechanisms. We also measured the emission lifetimes by time-resolved PL and interpreted the detailed mechanism of SP-enhanced emissions. It was found that SP resonances can control not only the emission efficiency but also the exciton dynamics, such as exciton localization effects, QCSE screening, and defect level saturation. We conclude that the green gap problem can be solved by SP-enhanced light emission in semipolar InGaN/GaN.

Investigation of Indium doped Se-Te bulk chalcogenide glasses for electrical switching and phase changing applications

Recently, Metal-doped Se-Te chalcogenides have gained a lot of interest due to their unique capacity for electrical switching, which makes them desirable for electronic applications. This study examines the electrical switching characteristics of bulk Se86−xTe14Inx (0 ≤ x ≤ 6) amorphous alloys produced by the conventional melt-mix-quench process. The samples with an Indium atomic percentage between 2 to 6 exhibited a remarkable transition from a highly resistive to a low resistive state when subjected to an electric field with a current of 1 mA, displaying quick and reversible switching behaviour. The threshold voltage (Vth) significantly dropped from 410.6 V to 49.2 V with an increase in Indium concentration. Additionally, above the specific current threshold, these bulk glasses demonstrated memory-type switching, demonstrating their potential for data storage applications. To comprehend the trend of glass forming ability, thermal stability range and Hruby’s glass stability parameters, with their compositional dependency, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) was utilized. The sample Se80Te14In6 emerged to be the fastest phase-changing material, with a memory switching current threshold of Ith = 1.3 mA and a threshold voltage value of 49.2 V. To study the formation of crystallites in Se-Te-In alloy, X-ray diffraction patterns of pristine glass and the annealed sample were examined. Furthermore, temperature-dependent conductivity investigations showed a sharp rise in conductivity once the process crystallization begins (Tx), and also the threshold voltage (Vth) of the samples decreased linearly with rising temperature. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the electrical switching behaviour and thermal properties of Se-Te-In chalcogenide glasses, enhancing their suitability in electronic devices.

Thermal oxidation of lattice mismatched Al1-xInxN films on GaN

Lattice-mismatched Al1-xInxN layers grown on GaN and with varying x are thermally oxidized to understand how alloy content affects the oxidation process and oxide films. The samples are oxidized in a horizontal tube furnace at 830 oC and 900 oC for 2 h under O2. The samples are characterized using atomic force microscopy to determine root mean square roughness before and after oxidation. The oxide thickness for each sample is determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The AlInN layers with less indium produce smoother oxide layers, and the oxidation rate of the samples increases with increasing indium content. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy of scanning transmission electron microscopy images of the oxide layers show the In collects on or near the surface of the oxide layer. Overall, the results indicate that oxides formed from AlInN layers with less indium produce smoother oxide films and are more suitable for device applications.

Study of structural, spectral, morphological and absorption properties Ba-Co-In-Fe-O system

Recently, hexagonal ferrites with extraordinary properties (dielectric, structural, and low reflection losses) have been used for microwave absorption and to resolve the EM (Electromagnetic) pollution issues. In the recent work, nano-sized Z-type hexagonal ferrites with chemical composition Ba3Co2InxFe24-xO41; 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.12 (in a single step of 0.03) were synthesized via the sol-gel route. The samples were sintered at 1250 °C for 6 h to meet single-phase requirements. Confirmation of pure Z-phase ferrite was obtained from the XRD study. Lattice parameters were calculated from cell software. Crystallite size showed a decreasing trend with increasing indium content in the 30 to 26 nm range, while one sample appeared with a size of 37 nm. The maximum cell volume of 1574 (Å3) confirms a successful iron replacement with Indium. Morphological studies via SEM show that hexagonal ferrite with platelet structure is prepared successfully. FTIR analysis at room temperature showed two absorption bands in the 400-600 cm−1 range for octahedral and tetrahedral site vibrations. Various dielectric parameters were studied at room temperature in the frequency range of 1 MHz–6 GHz. The Indium substituted Fe3+ at the octahedral site and reduced ferrous-ferric hooping, reducing the real and imaginary permittivity.Furthermore, minimum reflection loss of −51.3 dB and −53.9 dB was observed for materials x = 0.06 and 0.12, reflecting that these materials best fit for microwave absorber application. All samples, including EM interference shielding and radar cross-section reduction, are significant for stealth applications. These In3+ substituted Ba3Co2Z Hexa-ferrites might be a good candidate for high-frequency wave applications.

Effect of In-doping on electrochromic behavior of NiO thin films

Undoped and Indium doped Nickel Oxide (NiO) thin layers with different doping content (2, 4, 6 at.%) were successfully deposited on glass and Indium-doped Tin Oxide (ITO) substrates using spray pyrolysis (SP) technique. The effect of indium on the microstructural, morphological, optical, and electrochromic behaviors of NiO films was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy, UV–Vis-NIR spectrophotometry. XRD examination shows that all NiO layers have a polycrystalline cubic phase with a preferred orientation along the (111) plane. Raman spectroscopy proves the XRD result. SEM images show nanograins formation in all the sprayed films. The EDS analysis and the elemental mapping reveal the homogeneous distribution of the elements. The optical analysis reveals an average transmission of about 72% in the visible light region and an optical band gap energy of 3.54 eV for the undoped sample. These values decreased with increasing Indium content to reach 65% and 3.46 eV, respectively for the 6 at.% In-doped sample. The electrochromic behavior of NiO films deposited on ITO substrates was measured by cyclic voltammetry in a 2 M KOH aqueous electrolyte. The results show that a specific capacitance of 66 F. g − 1 at 5 mV.s − 1, an optical density variation of 43%, and a coloration efficiency of 93.74 cm2/C were obtained for 2 at.% In doped NiO. These values are considerably higher than those obtained for the undoped films, indicating that the In doping improved the electrochromic performance of nickel oxide films.

Indium containing sillenite semiconductor: Synthesis, structural, spectroscopic, and thermogravimetric analysis

AbstractSillenite‐type ceramics are non‐centrosymmetric phases of ongoing research interest because of their structural defects and optoelectronic properties. We report a series of sillenite compounds with a general composition Bi12(Bi3+4/5−3xIn3+5x□1/5−2x)O19.2+3x□0.8−3x for x = 0.03–0.27 to understand how the crystal–physicochemical properties change with a successive filling of empty Bi3+ positions in the tetrahedral site by In3+ cation. Conventional solid‐state synthesis method is used to prepare the microcrystalline samples. Each sample is characterized by X‐ray diffraction, Raman, UV/Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and thermogravimetry (TG/DSC). X‐ray powder data Rietveld refinement reveals that phase‐pure samples can be obtained for x = 0.03–0.08 in the space group I23. Appearance of starting In2O3 as minor phases with the final products for 0.10 < x < 0.27 suggests for xmax = 0.08. The successive decrease of the lattice parameter indicates the incorporation of smaller In3+ cations in the structure. The effect of the lone electron pairs of Bi3+ and the structural cation vacancies lead to the modification of the interatomic bond lengths. At least one Raman active phonon mode shows hardening for decreasing cation vacancy concentration in the system. The bandgap energy increases with increasing indium content. An additional absorption band at lower energy for x = 0.03–0.08 complements the theoretical study, which completely disappears for x > 0.08. The stronger In–O bonds play pivotal roles in the thermal stability of the phases studied by TGA/DSC analysis.

Kinetic regularities of hydrometallurgical recycling of spent displays: behavior of indium

This article discusses the physicochemical regularities of indium leaching from the surface of glass plates of used displays in various acids. The glass of used displays was pre-cleaned from polarizers and crushed. Their base is comprised of silicon and aluminum oxides. Indium is presented in the form of In2O3·SnO2. Indium content in the material obtained is 174.8 mg/kg. Individual solutions of sulfuric, hydrochloric and methanesulfonic acids were used as leaching agents. The influence of concentrations of the mentioned acids (0.1–1.0 N), leaching duration (10–60 min), temperature (298–353 K) and liquid-to-solid ratio (L : S = (7.5÷15.0): 1 cm3/g) on the degree of indium extraction into solution has been determined. Partial orders of reaction in terms of CH3SO3H, H2SO4, HCl are 0.69, 0.67 and 1.10, respectively. In the course of experiments an intensive increase in indium concentration was observed in the first 20–40 min f leaching in H2SO4 and HCl solutions. The process rate then decreased and indium extraction actually did not increase, due to a fall in the amount of non-reacted indium. During leaching in 0.1–0.4 N in CH3SO3H solutions, the rate of indium dissolution did not change throughout the experiment, since the amount of non-reacted indium gas decreased insignificantly. The acids considered here can be ranked in the following ascending order of their efficiency for indium dissolution: CH3SO3H, H2SO4, HCl, which corresponds to the growth of strengths of these acids. An increase in the temperature led to a significant increase in indium extraction. The apparent activation energies of In2O3 dissolution in CH3SO3H, H2SO4, HCl solutions have were calculated as equal to 51.4, 51.2, 43.4 kJ/mole, respectively. It was established that with the use of HCl as leaching agent, the increase in the fraction of liquid phase in the slurry from 7.5 : 1 to 15 : 1 cm3/g lead to fall in indium extraction by 2.4 times and the initial leaching rate by 3.2 times. It was demonstrated that an increase in L : S during indium dissolution in CH3SO3H (from 7.5 : 1 to 15 : 1 cm3/g) and H2SO4 (from 10 : 1 to 15 : 1 cm3/g) is accompanied by insignificant changes in extraction and initial leaching rate. Therefore, the studies performed demonstrated that indium leaching from glasses of spent displays flows in mixed mode upon the use of HCl and in kinetic mode in H2SO4 and CH3SO3H solutions.

Fabrication of composition-controlled MOCVD grown InxGa1-xN based MSM photodetectors

Metal Semiconductor Metal (MSM) photodetector devices based on metal organic chemical vapour deposition grown InGaN/GaN heterostructures with Ni/Au contacts has been fabricated with activity under near ultraviolet/visible region of spectra. Composition controlled InGaN/GaN heterostructures has been utilized for device fabrication to realize its correlation with the electrical performance and responsivity of the device. The steady and transient performance of the as designed photodetectors were investigated and a photo response time <9 ms, responsivity of 0.920 A/W and high detectivity range of ∼3.46 × 1013 Jones has been achieved at a wavelength of 360 nm for an indium composition of 10%. We have observed that an increasing indium content in InGaN layers up to an optimum value resulted in an increase in device performance which has been explained with the help of various structural, morphological, optical and spectroscopic analysis. The obtained results were competing with the many previously reported photodetectors.

Impact of the indium content on structural, magnetic, and electrodynamic properties of nanocomposites based on In-substituted Sr hexaferrite and Ni–Zn spinel ferrite with excellent absorption characteristics

SrInxFe12-xO4/Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.04) nanocomposites (SIFO/NZFO NCs) were synthesized using a one-pot sol-gel auto-combustion technique. The EDX method was used to verify the chemical composition. An X-ray diffractometer (XRD) was used for the structural analysis. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to study the morphological characteristics. The impact of indium doping on the magnetic properties of the nanocomposites was investigated using magnetization measurements at T = 300. A kink was observed in the M − H curves for lower indium content (x ≤ 0.02), which was suppressed with further increasing indium content until it vanished at a higher content. A single peak at a higher indium content replaced two peaks at a lower indium content (x 0.02), according to the switching field distribution (i.e., dM/dH vs. H). When the indium concentration increased, the saturation, remanence magnetization, and coercive field increased until x = 0.01, and then decreased, according to the analysis of the M − H loops. The obtained results reveal that an exchange interaction at the surface of the SIFO and NZFO nanoparticles (NPs) exists. The degree of intergranular dipolar interactions diminishes with increasing indium content within the hard-soft ferrite SIFO/NZFO NCs and becomes insignificant at higher indium contents. Moreover, the core of the SIFO and NZFO NPs also contains magnetic super-exchange interactions between Fe and O ions. At high frequencies (2–20 GHz), a correlation was found between the hard phase composition (indium content) and electrodynamic characteristics. Analyses were performed on the evolution of essential parameters (real and imaginary permittivity and permeability) in relation to the frequency. In this frequency range, the effect of electromagnetic radiation absorption was observed. A significant level of electromagnetic absorption (>-12 dB) in the frequency range was observed for investigated nanocomposites (NCs). The NCs with lower indium content (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.01) have higher reflection looses coefficients (−18 … -36 dB). This opens broad perspectives for the practical application of magnetic media for intensive electromagnetic absorption.

Advantages of using Cu1-хInх alloys as spacers in GMR multilayers

It is shown that CuIn alloys can be effectively used as spacers in GMR multilayers. Attention is paid to the method of obtaining of the homogeneous CuIn alloys. Magnetron targets Cu1-xInx with an indium content х = 2–8.7 at% have been used for preparation of exchange-coupled multilayers of the composition glass/Ta(5)/Ni48Fe12Cr40(5)/[Co90Fe10(1.3)/Cu1-xInx(2–2.2 nm)]7/Ta(5). A decrease in GMR ratio was found with an increase in the content of indium in the alloy Cu1-xInx. For x < 4.7 at% a slight decrease in magnetoresistance is observed. The sharpest decrease in the GMR ratio from 23.3% to 3.2% is observed when the indium content changes in the range x = 4.7–8.7 at%. It is demonstrated that the coercivity of CoFe/Cu1-xInx multilayers decreases more than 5 times when the indium content increases in the range of х = 0–4.7 at. %. A correlation between the crystallite sizes in multilayers and the change of coercivity has been revealed. It is shown that the substitution in the multilayers studied of Co90Fe10 alloy by Co-rich ternary ferromagnetic alloys Co77Fe17Ni6 and Co70Fe20Ni10 made it possible to obtain CoFeNi/CuIn multilayers with GMR ratio of 25–29%, extremely low coercivity of several Oe, and high linearity of the field dependence of magnetoresistance. The combination of these characteristics is useful for practical applications.

Indium incorporation at InxGa1-xN relaxed self-assembled nanostructures on Si substrates

In this work, we report on self-assembling of InxGa1-xN nanostructures under strong nitrogen-rich conditions on Si (111) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. In-situ analysis of the reflection high-energy electron diffraction patterns allowed to follow the strain evolution of the films as well as to monitor the morphological changes related to the In incorporation. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy images of the samples evidenced the growth of different nanostructures such as nanocolumns and nanowalls depending on the In content. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements allowed to determine the indium concentration while Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) was used to obtain the composition and thickness of the films and to explore the way in which In and Ga atoms are incorporated in the InxGa1-xN ternary alloy. XRD and RBS complementary analysis suggests that phase separation, occurring at the higher indium concentration, induces both the In and Ga rich phases segregation towards the external surface of the growths. Therefore, the columnar surface arrangement observed on the extreme binary compounds is transformed into separated nanowalls as the indium content increases. The probable origin of this morphology change is discussed. A shift towards lower energies of the low temperature photoluminescence spectra was observed for increased In concentration and a value of the bowing band gap parameter of about 3 was estimated using the extrema binary compounds and the intermediated indium concentration samples.

Evaluations of structural, thermal, spectral, and magnetic properties of Li0.5Fe2.5O4 multi magnetic oxide fabricated via sol-gel auto-ignition technique

In3+ incorporated lithium ferrites have been synthesized via sol-gel auto-ignition route, and these were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Thermal analysis of pure sample shows 12% weight loss in three successive steps observed by Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The lattice constant, cell volume, radii (Rt and Ro), and hopping lengths exhibited decreasing behavior, while crystallite size, X-ray, and bulk densities show an increasing trend with indium substitution. The bond length of each side decreases as indium content increases. The squareness ratio (R) exhibited that synthesized ferrites are single domain. The moderate value of saturation magnetization with a small Hc and squareness ratio proposed that synthesized ferrites may be suitable for high-frequency applications.

Preparation of In/Sn Nanoparticles (In3Sn and InSn4) by Wet Chemical One-Step Reduction and Performance Study

The preparation of binary alloys by surfactant-assisted chemical reduction in aqueous solution at room temperature has become a hot topic. In this article low melting point tin/indium (Sn/In) nanoparticles are synthesized. The formation process of the alloy was studied. Scanning electron microscopy, energy spectrometry, and X-ray diffraction are used to determine the morphology, composition, and crystal structure of the nanoparticles. Study found that fully alloyed indium-tin nanoparticles can be obtained by wet chemical method and the main phases of indium-tin alloy are β-phase (In3Sn) and γ-phase (InSn4). However, the Sn phase appears at a low content of indium (40 wt%). When the content of indium increases to 45 (wt%), the tin phase disappears. In addition, the most important finding is that the composition of the indium-tin alloy can be changed by ratio control, and the content of In3Sn increases with the increase of indium content. The relative content of In3Sn attains a maximum when the content of indium increases to 60 (wt%). In contrast, the content of InSn4 decreases. Finally, differential scanning calorimetry measurements is performed to understand the melting behavior of the nanoparticles and low melting temperatures are achieved for a wide range of indium compositions (from 40% to 60%). The melting temperature is found to be in the range of 125–132 °C and it increased with increasing In3Sn (also the increase of indium content). This gives us a new understanding into the binary alloy nano-system and gives important information for the application of low temperature alloy solders. The choice of composition can be based on the corresponding melting point.

Metal-Insulator phase transition in thin films of vanadium dioxide doped with indium

The electrical conductivity of thin polycrystalline films V(1-x)InxO2 has been studied in a wide temperature range covering the regions of existence of both the metallic and insulator phases. It is shown that with increasing indium concentration, the temperature of the metal-insulator phase transition decreases, and the width of the temperature region of phase coexistence monotonically increases. To explain the temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity of the insulator phase V(1-x)InxO2, a model of hopping conductivity is applied, taking into account the effect of thermal vibrations of atoms on the resonance integral. Calculated the values of the parameter ε depend on the degree of doping of VO2. Keywords: phase transition, vanadium oxides, thin films, polaron, electrical conductivity.

Efficient optical-to-terahertz conversion in large-area InGaAs photo-Dember emitters with increased indium content.

In this Letter, optical-to-terahertz (THz) conversion of 800 nm femtosecond laser pulses in large-area bias-free InGaAs emitters based on photo-Dember (PD) and lateral photo-Dember (LPD) effects is experimentally investigated. We use metamorphic buffers to grow sub-micrometer thick InxGa1-xAs layers with indium mole fractions x=0.37, 0.53, and 0.70 on a GaAs substrate. A strong enhancement of THz output energy with an increase of indium content is observed. On the surface of the sample providing the strongest emission (x=0.7), we have fabricated a 1.5cm2 area of asymmetrically shaped metallic grating for LPD emission. This LPD emitter allows achieving high conversion efficiency of 0.24⋅10-3 and a broad generation bandwidth of up to 6 THz. We also demonstrate that there is no significant difference in the conversion efficiency when operating at 1 and 200 kHz repetition rates. Our results show that large-area LPD emitters give a convenient, competitive way to generate intense high-repetition-rate THz pulses.

Structure, Microstructure, and Magnetic Properties of Melt Spun Ni50Mn50−xInx Ribbons

Structural, microstructural, and magnetic properties of Heusler Ni50Mn50−xInx (x = 5 and 10) ribbons have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The as quenched Ni50Mn45In5 ribbons exhibit a mixture of monoclinic 14M (a = 4.329(3) Å, b = 5.530(3) Å, and c = 28.916(3) Å), and tetragonal L10 (a = b = 3.533(3) Å, and c = 7.522(3) Å) martensite structures, while Ni50Mn40In10 ribbons display a single monoclinic 14M phase (a = 4.262(3) Å, b = 5.692(3) Å, and c = 29.276(3) Å). After three heating/cooling cycles, in the temperature range of 303–873 K, the Rietveld refinement of the XRD patterns revealed the presence of a single 14M martensite for Ni50Mn45In5 ribbons, and a mixture of cubic L21 (31%) and 14M (69%) phases for Ni50Mn40In10 ribbons. The characteristic temperatures of the martensitic transition (Astart, Afinish, Mstart, and Mfinish), the thermal hysteresis temperature width, and the equilibrium temperature decreased with increasing indium content and heating cycles. The samples show a paramagnetic like behavior in the as quenched state, and a ferromagnetic like behavior after the third heating/cooling cycle.

Synthesis of Superconducting InxSn1−xTe (0.04 &lt; x &lt; 0.1) Large Single Crystal by Liquid Transport Method

In this work, a new crystal growth technique called the liquid transport method was introduced to synthesize single crystals of a topological superconductor candidate, InxSn1−xTe (IST). Crystals with the size of several millimeters were successfully synthesized, and were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy as well as electronic transport measurements. Lattice parameters decreased monotonously with the increase of indium content while hole density varied in reverse. Superconductivity with the critical temperature (Tc) around 1.6 K were observed, and the hole densities were estimated to be in the order of 1020 cm−3. The upper critical fields (Bc2) were estimated to be 0.68 T and 0.71 T for In0.04Sn0.96Te and In0.06Sn0.94Te, respectively. The results indicated that the quality of our crystals is comparable to that grown by the chemical vapor transport method, but with a relatively larger size. Our work provides a new method to grow large single crystals of IST and could help to solve the remaining open questions in a system that needs large crystals, such as a superconducting pairing mechanism, unconventional superconductivity, and so on.

Effect of nominal Indium substitution on structural, magnetic and microwave properties of Calcium-Barium M−type hexaferrites

A series of Indium doped Calcium-Barium M−type hexaferrite with nominal compositions Ca0.5Ba0.5Fe12-xO19Inx (x = 0.00, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25) was prepared by sol–gel method. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the synthesized compositions revealed two phases; M−type hexaferrite phase as a main phase and α-Fe2O3 hematite phase. The gradual increasing trend in lattice parameters was observed on increasing Indium concentration showing incorporation of Indium in M−type hexagonal crystal structure. The grain size of M−type hexagonal phase was calculated using Debye–Scherer formula from non-overlapping peaks and it varied from 20 to 500 nm (0.5 μm). The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs showed hexagonal platelet-shaped, randomly distributed and agglomerated grains. The high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) patterns further confirmed the observations of phases from x-ray diffraction (XRD). The remnant magnetization Mr and saturation magnetization Ms showed humped behaviour with maximum value for x = 0.25. The decrease in coercivity Hc was observed for x = 0.05 but it increased and remained nearly constant on further Indium addition. The effective dielectric constant showed resonance peaks at 4.3 and 8 GHz for all compositions and the effective loss decreases with frequency with maximum loss for x = 0.05, indicating the slight effect of In doping. The effective magnetic permeability showed small values and a resonance peak around 9 GHz, similarly magnetic losses also showed low values and a decreasing trend with frequency, not much noticeable influence of Indium doping was observed. These materials can be used in microwave frequency devices such as phase shifters and permanent magnets.

Optical properties of thin Ag - In films prepared by interdiffusion in bimetallic nanolayered stacks

The present work reports on the preparation, structural and optical properties of thin bimetallic films from the Ag-In system. Thin films with required compositions were prepared by annealing of Ag/In stacks. The chemical and phase composition, as well as the surface morphology of thin films were analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis, X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The optical properties of the thin film coatings were characterized by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The increase of the indium content increases the values of the imaginary part of the complex permittivity in the visible spectral region and decreases them in the ultraviolet spectral region. As a result, a shift of the plasmonic activity towards higher photon energies was achieved.