Phase Transitions in Magneto-Electric Hexaferrites.

Hexaferrites have long been the object of extensive studies because of their great possibility for applications-permanent magnets, high-density recording media, microwave devices, in biomedicine, to name but a few. Lately, many researchers' efforts have been focused on the existence of the magneto-electric effect in some hexaferrite systems and the appealing possibility of them being used as single-phase multiferroic and magneto-electric materials. As indicated by theoretical analyses, the origin of the large magneto-electric effect can be sought in the strong interaction between the magnetization and the electric polarization that coexist in insulators with noncollinear magnetic structures. The hexaferrites' magnetic structure and, particularly, the specific magnetic spin ordering are the key factors in observing magneto-electric phases in hexaferrites. Some of these phases are metastable, which hampers their direct practical use. However, as the hexaferrites' phase diagrams reveal, chemical doping can be used to prepare a number of noncollinear stable magnetic phases. Since the magneto-electric effect has to do with the magnetic moments ordering, it seems only logical that one should study the cation substitutions' influence on the magnetic phase transition temperature. In this paper, we summarize recent examples of advances in the exploration of magnetic phase transitions in Y-type hexaferrites. In particular, the effect is emphasized by substituting in Y-type hexaferrites the nonmagnetic Me2+ cations with magnetic ones and of the magnetic Fe3+ cations with nonmagnetic ones on their magnetic properties and magnetic phase transitions. The work deals with the structural properties of and the magnetic phase transitions in a specific Y-type hexaferrite, namely, Ba(Sr)2Me2Fe12O22.

Magnetic Field Influence on the Microwave Characteristics of Composite Samples Based on Polycrystalline Y-Type Hexaferrite.

Here, we report results on the magnetic and microwave properties of polycrystalline Y-type hexaferrite synthesized by sol-gel auto-combustion and acting as a filler in a composite microwave-absorbing material. The reflection losses in the 1-20 GHz range of the Y-type hexaferrite powder dispersed homogeneously in a polymer matrix of silicon rubber were investigated in the absence and in the presence of a magnetic field. A permanent magnet was used with a strength of 1.4 T, with the magnetic force lines oriented perpendicularly to the direction of the electromagnetic wave propagation. In the case of using an external magnetic field, an extraordinary result was observed. The microwave reflection losses reached a maximum value of 35.4 dB at 5.6 GHz in the Ku-band without a magnetic field and a maximum value of 21.4 dB at 8.2 GHz with the external magnetic field applied. The sensitivity of the microwave properties of the composite material to the external magnetic field was manifested by the decrease of the reflected wave attenuation. At a fixed thickness, tm, of the composite, the attenuation peak frequency can be adjusted to a certain value either by changing the filling density or by applying an external magnetic field.

Data supporting the results of the characterization of the phases and structures appearing during the synthesis process of Ba0.5Sr1.5Zn2-xNixFe12O22 by auto-combustion.

The data presented has to do with identifying the various phases arising during the synthesis of the Y-type hexaferrite series Ba0.5Sr1.5Zn2-xNixFe12O22 by auto-combustion that we deem important for their microstructural and magnetic properties. The data and the related analyses support the research paper "Ni-substitution effect on the properties of Ba0.5Sr1.5Zn2-xNixFe12O22 powders" [1]. Thus, the parameters are presented of the phases appearing after auto-combustion and after the initial annealing at 800 °C, namely, crystal cell and crystallite size. Also, additional data are provided obtained by EDS concerning the Ba:Sr:Zn:Ni:Fe ratio in Ba0.5Sr1.5Zn2-xNixFe12O22 (x = 0.8, 1, 1.5) samples synthesized at 1170 °C for 10 h. The data can be used as a reference in establishing how the phases distinguished during the initial process of auto-combustion affect the Ba0.5Sr1.5Zn2-xNixFe12O22 powders, which are candidates for room-temperature multiferroic materials. The data have not been published previously and are made available to permit critical or further analyses.

Structural, Magnetic and Microwave Characterization of Polycrystalline Z-Type Sr3Co2Fe24O41 Hexaferrite.

We report results on the structural and microwave properties and magnetic phase transitions in polycrystalline Sr3Co2Fe24O41 hexaferrite synthesized by sol-gel auto-combustion and acting as a filler in a composite microwave absorbing material. The zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled (FC) magnetization curves revealed a change in the magnetization behavior at 293 K. The reflection losses in the 1-20 GHz range of the Sr3Co2Fe24O41 powder dispersed homogeneously in a polymer matrix of silicon rubber were investigated in both the absence and presence of a magnetic field. In the latter case, a dramatic rise in the attenuation was observed. The microwave reflection losses reached the maximum value of 32.63 dB at 17.29 GHz in the Ku-band. The sensitivity of the microwave properties of the composite material to the external magnetic field was manifested by the appearance of new reflection losses maxima. At a fixed thickness tm of the composite, the attenuation peak frequency can be adjusted to a certain value either by changing the filling density or by applying an external magnetic field.

Study of the Structural and Magnetic Properties of Co-Substituted Ba2Mg2Fe12O22 Hexaferrites Synthesized by Sonochemical Co-Precipitation.

Ba2Mg0.4Co1.6Fe12O22 was prepared in powder form by sonochemical co-precipitation and examined by X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy and magnetization measurements. Careful XRD data analyses revealed the Y-type hexaferrite structure as an almost pure phase with a very small amount of CoFe2O4 as an impurity phase (about 1.4%). No substantial changes were observed in the unit cell parameters of Ba2Mg0.4Co1.6Fe12O22 in comparison with the unsubstituted compound. The Mössbauer parameters for Ba2Mg0.4Co1.6Fe12O22 were close to those previously found (within the limits of uncertainty) for undoped Ba2Mg2Fe12O22. Isomer shifts (0.27-0.38 mm/s) typical for high-spin Fe3+ in various environments were evaluated and no ferrous Fe2+ form was observed. However, despite the indicated lack of changes in the iron oxidation state, the cationic substitution resulted in a significant increase in the magnetization and in a modification of the thermomagnetic curves. The magnetization values at 50 kOe were 34.5 emu/g at 4.2 K and 30.5 emu/g at 300 K. The zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled (FC) magnetization curves were measured in magnetic fields of 50 Oe, 100 Oe, 500 Oe and 1000 Oe, and revealed the presence of two magnetic phase transitions. Both transitions are shifted to higher temperatures compared to the undoped compound, while the ferrimagnetic arrangement at room temperature is transformed to a helical spin order at about 195 K, which is considered to be a prerequisite for the material to exhibit multiferroic properties.

Deciphering the role of a coleopteran steering muscle via free flight stimulation.

Testing hypotheses of neuromuscular function during locomotion ideally requires the ability to record cellular responses and to stimulate the cells being investigated to observe downstream behaviors [1]. The inability to stimulate in free flight has been a long-standing hurdle for insect flight studies. The miniaturization of computation and communication technologies has delivered ultra-small, radio-enabled neuromuscular recorders and stimulators for untethered insects [2-8]. Published stimulation targets include the areas in brain potentially responsible for pattern generation in locomotion [5], the nerve chord for abdominal flexion [9], antennal muscles [2, 10], and the flight muscles (or their excitatory junctions) [7, 11-13]. However, neither fine nor graded control of turning has been demonstrated in free flight, and responses to the stimulation vary widely [2, 5, 7, 9]. Technological limitations have precluded hypotheses of function validation requiring exogenous stimulation during flight. We investigated the role of a muscle involved in wing articulation during flight in a coleopteran. We set out to identify muscles whose stimulation produced a graded turning in free flight, a feat that would enable fine steering control not previously demonstrated. We anticipated that gradation might arise either as a function of the phase of muscle firing relative to the wing stroke (as in the classic fly b1 muscle [14, 15] or the dorsal longitudinal and ventral muscles of moth [16]), or due to regulated tonic control, in which phase-independent summation of twitch responses produces varying amounts of force delivered to the wing linkages [15, 17, 18].

Insect-machine hybrid system.

We demonstrated the remote control of insects in free flight via an implantable radio-equipped miniature neural stimulating system. This paper summarizes these results. The pronotum mounted system consisted of neural stimulators, muscular stimulators, a radio transceiver-equipped microcontroller and a microbattery. Flight initiation, cessation and elevation control were accomplished through neural stimulus of the brain which elicited, suppressed or modulated wing oscillation. Turns were triggered through the direct muscular stimulus of either of the basalar muscles. We characterized the response times, success rates, and free-flight trajectories elicited by our neural control systems in remotely-controlled beetles. We believe this type of technology will open the door to in-flight perturbation and recording of insect flight responses.

Microwave properties of polymer composites containing combinations of micro- and nano-sized magnetic fillers.

We investigated the microwave absorbing properties of composite bulk samples with nanostructured and micron-sized fillers. As magnetic fillers we used magnetite powder (Fe3O4 with low magnetocrystalline anisotropy) and strontium hexaferrite (SrFe12O9 with high magnetocrystalline anisotropy). The dielectric matrix consisted of silicone rubber. The average particle size was 30 nm for the magnetite powder and 6 micro/m for the strontium hexaferrite powder. The micron-sized SrFe12O19 powder was prepared using a solid-state reaction. We investigated the influence of the filler concentration and the filler ratio (Fe3O4/SrFe12O19) in the polymer matrix on the microwave absorption in a large frequency range (1 / 18 GHz). The results obtained showed that the highly anisotropic particles become centers of clusterification and the small magnetite particles form magnetic balls with different diameter depending on the concentration. The effect of adding micron-sized SrFe12O19 to the nanosized Fe3O4 filler in composites absorbing structures has to do with the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) shifting to the higher frequencies due to the changes in the ferrite filler's properties induced by the presence of a magnetic material with high magnetocrystalline anisotropy. The two-component filler possesses new values of the saturation magnetization and of the anisotropy constant, differing from those of both SrFe12O1919 and Fe3O4, which leads to a rise in the effective anisotropy field. The results demonstrate the possibility to vary the composite's absorption characteristics in a controlled manner by way of introducing a second magnetic material.