Structural, Magnetic, and Electrical Properties of RE Doped Sr0.82RE0.18Fe12-xAlxO19 (RE = Gd, Pr, Sm) Compound

Among the family of ferrites, M-type hexaferrites has many industrial applications ranging from simple magnets to microwave devices. Improvement in magnetic and dielectric properties of ferrites is of continuous interest. In this present work details study is done to observe the effect of co-doping of rare-earth (RE3+: Pr3+, Sm3+, and Gd3+) and aluminum in Sr0.82RE0.18Fe12-xAlxO19 (x = 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0). The adopted samples were synthesized via autocombustion technique. Detailed synthesis, structural, magnetic, and electrical measurements of samples were performed to understand structural-magnetic-electrical property relationship. The Al3+ substitution for Fe3+ brings in a significant enhancement in coercivity but reduces magnetization due to the magnetic dilution effect. Additional coercivity enhancement was possible with RE3+ doping without affecting the magnetization of samples. Among all RE3+ doped samples, Pr3+ doped samples showed the highest Curie temperature, (Tc ~ 465℃), while Gd3+ doped samples showed little variation in dielectric properties in GHz frequency range. This makes RE3+ doped samples as an ideal candidate for high-frequency microwave applications. Pr3+ with oblate charge distribution (negative Stevens constant) was observed to substitute well into the lattice consequently bringing in desired improvements in physical properties of Sr0.82RE0.18Fe12-xAlxO19 ferrite.