Low-field microwave absorption in Zn1−x (Mn:Fe(Ni)) x O (x = 0.02) system: hysteresis, line shapes and powdering effects

We studied the low-field microwave absorption (LFMA) in polycrystalline pellet and powdered (0.1–0.2 µm particle size) samples with a nominal composition of Zn1 − x(Mn:Fe(Ni))xO (x = 0.02). LFMA signals are stronger in the case of Mn:Fe co-doped ZnO, as compared to that of Mn:Ni co-doped ZnO. While the bulk samples show hysteresis, it disappears in the case of powdered samples. Further the line shapes of LFMA were modified with powdering, leading to small saturation fields for LFMA. This indicates that the microwave absorption in these powders is more sensitive than in the pellet form. We interpret these results in terms of interparticle–interfacial pinning. In this work, we clearly establish the low-field tunability of microwave absorption in the Zn1 − x(Mn:Fe(Ni))xO (x = 0.02) system, which is good for the applications as microwave absorbers with small field tunability as a functionality. This means LFMA can give inputs for the right choice of material for field-tunable microwave absorber design.