Magnetic properties of Ce,Dy-substituted yttrium iron garnet ferrite powders fabricated using a sol-gel method

Y3-x-yCexDyyFe5O12 (x=0-0.1, y=0-1.0) nanoparticles were fabricated by a sol-gel method. The crystalline structures and magnetic properties of the samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning probe microscopy (SPM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The XRD patterns of Y3-x-yCexDyyFe5O12 have only peaks of the garnet structure and the mean size range from 42 to 60 nm. The particles' sizes observed for all the samples analyzed by SPM are in good agreement with these data from XRD. Results of VSM show that the saturation magnetization increases with increasing Ce content (x) and decreases with increasing Dy content (y) in a linear manner. The saturation magnetization increases with increasing particle size. (copyright 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)