Nickel-zinc ferrite/permalloy (Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4/Ni-Fe) soft magnetic nanocomposites fabricated by electro-infiltration

Abstract

Magnetically soft NiZn ferrite (Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4) nanoparticles are embedded within a permalloy (Ni-Fe) matrix via an electro-infiltration process as thin films intended for use as on-chip inductor cores in the MHz frequency regime. A layer of NiZn ferrite nanoparticles is first deposited, and then permalloy is electroplated through the voids to encapsulate the particles and form three-dimensional ferrite/alloy nanocomposites. The composites are estimated to contain 37% ferrite by volume and exhibit a relative permeability of ∼320, a saturation of ∼1.15 T, and an operational bandwidth of 93 MHz. Compared to a permalloy thin film of similar thickness, the nanocomposite exhibits 39% higher electrical resistivity and 50% higher bandwidth.