Nonlinear magnetic properties of Mn-modified Ba3Co2Fe23O41 hexaferrite

We have investigated the structural and magnetic properties of a novel type of hexaferrite with composition of Ba₃M₂Fe₂₃O₄₁ (where M=Co and Mn) (Z hexaferrite) with tunable permeability. The material is promising for very high frequency (VHF) control when used in a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) as a tunable inductor. We substituted Mn for Co in the composition Ba₃Co_2-xMn_xFe₂₃O₄₁ from x=0.0 to 1.2 to improve the inductance tunability and quality factor of the inductor material. Mn substitution had significant influence on the grain size of the sintered hexaferrites, and the coercivity was greatly reduced. The initial permeability and quality factor increased with increasing substitution of Mn for Co until x reached 0.5, an effect attributed to the decrease of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant of the hexaferrite and increase of average grain size. The tunability of the samples also increased with increasing Mn substitution, reaching a maximum at x=0.5, and then decreased with further substitution. This behavior is similar to that of the initial permeability and coercivity, and can be explained by the same mechanism.