Nanosized barium hexaferrite in novolac phenolic resin as microwave absorber for X-band application

Nanosized barium ferrite (BaFe12O19) with Novolac phenolic resin (NPR) is developed as a magnetic absorber for application in the frequency range 8.2-12.4 GHz. The absorption is studied by modifying the microstructural properties of the ferrite inclusion with annealing temperature and its content in the composite. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction pattern confirms the formation of hexagonal structure of barium ferrite. The crystallite size of the barium ferrite particles is in nano-range and increases with annealing temperature. The BaFe12O19/NPR composite is prepared with different weight percentage of ferrite inclusions. The complex permittivity and complex permeability is measured at X-band and found to increase with annealing temperature and contents of ferrite inclusion. Theoretical study of reflection loss gives that 2 mm absorber samples are showing the best results for X-band application. Reflection loss measurement of the samples shows absorption peak of −24.61 dB at 10.26 GHz for 30 wt%, −28.39 dB at 9.98 GHz for 40 wt% and −37.06 dB at 9.5 GHz for 50 wt% of BaFe12O19 in NPR matrix.