Enhanced microwave absorption of BaTiO3-based ferroelectric/ferromagnetic nanocomposite

Morphology, crystal structure, magnetic and microwave absorption properties of BaTiO3-based ferromagnetic/ferroelectric composites were investigated in this research. It was evident that Ni-Co-P/BaTiO3 composite was a narrowband absorber, whereas carbonyl iron/BaTiO3 composite samples showed broadband absorption characteristics. For the carbonyl iron/BaTiO3 composite, a reflection loss exceeding -20 dB was obtained in the frequency range of 3.8-5.8 GHz with an absorber thickness of 2.3-3.3 mm. An optimal RL of -46 dB was found at 4.7 GHz for an absorber thickness of 2.8 mm. The effective absorption bandwidth with RL <-10 dB was extended and reached 16 GHz (2-18 GHz). Moreover, the intrinsic reasons for microwave absorption of the composites, the dielectric loss and magnetic loss mechanics were also investigated. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.