Influence of powder surface area on the magnetoelectric effect in barium lead zirconate titanate/nickel ferrite composite ceramics

This paper examines the influence of powder surface area on the magnetoelectric properties of a ferrite + piezoelectric composite. The use of fine powders with a specific surface area in the range 3.1-7.6 m(2)/g improves the magnetoelectric parameters of bulk composites by 17 to 44% in comparison with a coarse powder with a specific surface area of 0.8 m(2)/g. This is due to the formation of a more homogeneous composite material, improvement of its dielectric properties, increase in contact area between phases, reduction in internal demagnetizing factor, and increase in the density of the material.