Resistivity dependent magnetoelectric characterization of Ni0.2Co0.8Fe2O4 + Ba0.8Pb0.2Zr0.8Ti0.2O3 composites

The magnetoelectric (ME) composites with compositions (x) Ni0.2Co0.8Fe2O4 + (1 − x)Ba0.8Pb0.2Zr0.8Ti0.2O3 (BPZT – barium lead zirconate titanate) in which 0 ≤ x ≤ 1 mol% was prepared by standard ceramic double sintering method. The presence of two phases in the composites such as ferrite and ferroelectric was confirmed by X-ray diffraction studies (XRD). The study of variation of DC resistivity with temperature of all the samples shows n-type conductivity. Magnetic property such as AC susceptibility reveals the existence of single domain (SD) and mixed (SD + MD) particles in the composites. Static ME voltage coefficient as a function of applied DC magnetic field was studied. The ME response is found to be dependent on the content of ferrite phase and the maximum value of ME coefficient 536 μV/(cm Oe) was observed for 15% of ferrite phase in composites.