Study of (1−x) BaTiO3–x Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 (x = 5, 10 and 15%) magneto-electric ceramic composites

Structural, magnetic, ferroelectric and magneto-electric studies of BaTiO3 (BTO)–x Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 (NZFO) ceramic composites are reported. The fraction of NZFO, i.e., ferrite phase is varied from 0% to 15%. The prepared ceramics are studied using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, magnetization and ferroelectric measurements. Using X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy measurements, the bi-phase formation of the composites is confirmed. From the high temperature magnetization measurements, anomaly in the magnetization is observed at ferroelectric transition temperature of BTO phase indicating the presence of magneto-electric coupling. Positive Up Negative Down (PUND) measurements are employed to capture the true ferroelectric polarization, i.e., true switched charge density (QS). The strength of ME coupling is studied by measuring the QS before and after magnetic poling and it is observed that for x = 10% composition the ME coupling is maximum for the studied compositions.