Co2-Y ferrite modified by CuO addition applied to a terrestrial broadcasting antenna

• The magnetic properties of Co2-Y hexagonal ferrite was modified by the CuO addition.
• A low tan δ of 0.05 along with a permeability of 2.7 at 1 GHz was achieved.
• The ferrite was applied to a terrestrial broadcasting antenna with a helical winding.
• A wide bandwidth of 160 MHz and average gain of −0.5 dBi at 600 MHz were demonstrated.

The addition of CuO to hexagonal Y-type ferrites, Ba2Co2Fe12O22 was investigated as a way to modify the magnetic properties of these materials. It was found that a 0.6 wt% CuO addition led to a real part of complex permeability of 2.7 and a loss factor of 0.05 even at a frequency of 1 GHz. The doped ferrite was applied in a terrestrial broadcasting (ISDB) antenna in the 470–750 MHz frequency range. A ferrite antenna with a dimension of 3 mm×3 mm×30 mm dimensions with helical printed conductor patterns was designed and fabricated. It exhibited excellent average gain of −0.5 dBi at a center frequency of ~600 MHz and showed a wide bandwidth of 160 MHz under a gain level of −5 dBi.