Superior electrical and magnetic properties of microwave-sintered NiMgCuZn nanoferrites in comparison to their conventionally sintered counterparts

Microwave technique was employed for sintering a series of Ni 0.5− x Mg x Cu 0.3 Zn 0.2 Fe 2 O 4 nanoferrites ( x = 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20) synthesized by citrate precursor method. The samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), LCR meter, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). A comparative analysis was performed for the microwave-sintered specimens and conventionally sintered specimens. This work highlights the significant reduction in sintering duration for microwave technique and remarkable improvement in electromagnetic properties like higher dc resistivity and higher initial permeability for microwave-sintered samples as compared to conventionally sintered ones, thereby making microwave-sintered samples more suitable for high frequency and multilayer chip inductor (MLCI) applications.