Study of magnetic properties and magnetoelectric effect in (x) Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4+(1-x)PZT composites

Magnetoelectric (ME) composites consisting of ferrite phase (x) Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 + ferroelectric phase (1-x)Pb Zr0.8Ti0.2O3 (Lead Zirconate Titanate-PZT) in which x (mol%) varies between 0 and 1 (0.0 <= x <= 1.0) was synthesized by double sintering ceramic method. The presence of constituent phases of ferrite, ferroelectric and their composites was confirmed by X-ray diffraction studies. The hysteresis measurement was used to study magnetic properties such as saturation magnetization (M-S) and magnetic moment (mu(B)). The existence of single domain (SD) particle in the ferrite phase and mixed (SD+MD) particle in the composites was studied from AC susceptibility measurements. ME voltage coefficient for each mol% of ferrite phase was measured as a function of applied DC magnetic field and at the same time influence of magnetic field on ME response and resistivity of composites was studied. The maximum ME voltage coefficient of 0.84 mV/cm Oe was observed for 15% of ferrite phase and 85% of ferroelectric phase in the composites. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.