Electrical properties of In3+ and Cr3+ substituted magnesium-manganese ferrites

Two series of magnesium-manganese ferrites, viz. Mg0.9Mn0.1InxFe2-xO4 and Mg0.9Mn0.1CryFe2-yO4 have been prepared by the conventional ceramic process. The effects of In3+ and Cr3+ ions on the dc resistivity, dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor are presented in this paper. The resistivity increases with increasing concentrations of In3+ and Cr3+ ions. The observed variations in resistivity have been explained by Verwey's hopping mechanism. The activation energy, deduced from the temperature variation of resistivity, was found to increase with increasing concentrations of In3+ and Cr3+ ions. The room temperature dielectric constant at 100 kHz decreases with successive addition of trivalent ions in both the series. The observed variation in dielectric constant has been explained on the basis of space charge polarization. The dielectric loss tangent (tan delta) values measured at 100 kHz and 13 MHz are found to be very low for the samples with a higher concentration. The low values of the loss factor even at a high frequency indicate that the prepared materials may have great potential for use in microwave devices.