Role of ytterbium on structural and magnetic properties of NiCr0.1Fe1.9O4 co-precipitated ferrites

Abstract Ytterbium (Yb) doped NiCr 0.1 Yb x Fe 1.9−x O 4 (x = 0.00, 0.002, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08) spinel ferrites with different crystallite sizes have been prepared by co-precipitation technique and their magnetic and dielectric properties were investigated. X-ray diffraction data suggested that, after doping, all the samples possess a main spinel phase along with few traces of YbFeO 3 (secondary phase). The addition of Yb 3+ resulted in a decrease of crystallite size and an increase in X-ray density. The magnetic measurements indicated that saturation magnetization (M s ), coercivity (H c ) and remanence (M r ) of all the samples decreased by increasing dopant (Yb) concentration. Dielectric constant, dielectric loss and tan loss were also minimized with the increase in frequency as well as increase in the concentration of Yb 3+ ions in the nickel chromium based spinel ferrites. AC conductivity was directly proportional to frequency and inversely proportional to concentration of Yb 3+ ions. These ytterbium doped nickel ferrites may be potential candidates for the fabrication and development of high frequency switching devices.