Electron spin resonance (ESR) of magnetic sublattices in Sc-substituted barium hexaferrite

The partial substitution of Fe3+ by Sc3+ in barium hexaferrite has shown to be an effective method to tailor anisotropy for many novel microwave applications. Some basic studies have revealed that this substitution leads to unusual interactions among the magnetic sublattices of the ferrite. In order to investigate these interactions, samples with formula BaScxFe12-xO19 (1 ≤x ≤ 2) were prepared by sintering (1300°C, 6h). After structural characterization by x-ray diffraction, their ferromagnetic resonance spectra were measured in the X-band (9.4 GHz), in the 100-500 K temperature range. For x = 2, a single, broad resonance peak was observed at the low temperatures (103 K), exhibiting a progressive splitting into two peaks for increasing T, to finally coalesce again into a single (paramagnetic) narrow peak at 473 K. These results are interpreted in terms of a substitution of Fe3+ by Sc3+ ions in the 4fvi and 2b sublattices; the diamagnetic cations disrupt the superexchange interactions and produce a splitting of the 12k sublattice (which interacts directly with the 4fvi sublattice) into two sublattices with different canting angles, and different thermal dependence. As a result, the fraction of the 12k sublattices that are nearest neighbours of substituted 4fvi sites can behave as an independent sublattice for some temperature ranges. A similar behavior is observed for all the compositions with varying degrees of amplitude, but it is more evident for x = 2. A deconvolution of peaks has been attempted, in order to shed more light into this behavior.