ARTICLE IN PRESS

Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 322 (2010) 2641–2646

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Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jmmm

Study of LiTiMg-ferrite radome for the application of satellite communication

Naveen Kumar Saxena a,n, Nitendar Kumar b, P.K.S. Pourush a
a
Microwave Lab, Department of Physics, Agra College, Agra 282002 (U.P.), India
b
Solid State Physics Laboratory, Timarpur, Delhi 110007, India

a r t i c l e in fo abstract

Article history: In this paper the characteristics of LiTiMg-ferrite radome are presented. A thin layer of LiTiMg-ferrite is
Received 24 August 2009 used as superstrate or radome, which controls the radiation, reception, and scattering from a printed
Available online 9 April 2010 antenna or array by applying a dc magnetic bias field in the plane of the ferrite, orthogonal to the RF
Keywords: magnetic field. In this analysis absorbing and transmission power coefficients are calculated to obtain
Substituted Li-ferrite superstrate layer the power loss and transmitted power through the radome layer respectively. The absorbing power
Absorbing and transmission power coefficient verifies the switching behavior of radome for certain range of applied external magnetic field
coefficient (Ho), which depends on the resonance width parameter (DH) of ferrite material. By properly choosing
Quasi-TEM and magnetostatic wave the bias field, electromagnetic wave propagation in the ferrite layer can be made zero or negligible over
a certain frequency range, resulting in switching behavior of the ferrite layer. In this communication we
also show precise preparation of radome layer and present its electric and magnetic properties along
with its Curie temperature, which shows the working efficiency of layer under extreme situation. This
radome layer can be very useful for the sensitive and smart communication systems.
& 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Ferrite materials have a permeability tensor whose elements can be controlled by the direction and strength of a dc magnetic bias
field. A certain frequency range results in an evanescent wave behavior in the ferrite layer, and a large attenuation of the wave
transmitted through the layer due to the generation of quasi-TEM modes and higher-order modes of the magnetostatic surface wave
mode, which propagates transversely to the quasi-TEM mode. This reciprocal behavior includes the ability to tune in to the operating
frequency of a microstrip antenna, the generation of circular polarization with a single feed point, the dynamic wide angle impedance
matching of a phased array, and the reduction of microstrip antenna RCS using a normally biased ferrite substrate. In this work, we
describe the dispersion characteristics of radome layer by evaluating the absorbing and transmission power coefficients [1–4].
With the help of the analysis proposed herewe can also conclude how a ferrite radome can be used in conjunction with a printed antenna
as a bulk effect ‘‘switch,’’ whereby the antenna can be turned ‘‘on’’ or ‘‘off ’’ by applying an appropriate magnetic bias field. The propagation
constant of em-waves becomes zero due to the negative permeability state of a quasi-TEM and magnetostatic waves propagating in the
ferrite region. Applications include radar cross section reduction, EMP protection, and possibly a switchable polarizer. The idea of using the
negative permeability effect of a ferrite for switching radome is not a new one [4–8]; however, here a different approach is used with new
ferrite material LiTiMgferrite, which is synthesized by the solid state reaction technique at Solid State Physics Laboratory, Timarpur, Delhi.

2. Synthesis of radome layer

LiTiMg ferrite is synthesized from the basic components of lithium ferrites. In this work a typical composition of LiTiMg ferrite has
room temperature magnetization (4pMs) of 2200 G ( 75%) and Curie temperature (Tc) of 500 K ( 75%) and synthesized using solid state
reaction technique (SSRT). The ingredients required for the preparation of these ferrites were calculated on the basis of chemical formula.
A small amount of Mn3 + ion was also incorporated in the basic composition in order to suppress the formation of Fe2 + ions in the ferrites
and to influence magnetostriction being a John–Teller ion [10,11]. In order to avoid Lithia at high temperatures of sintering,
Bi2O3 (0.25 wt%) was added as sintering aid [12]. Analytical grade chemicals were used for the preparation of the material. The

n
Corresponding author. Tel.: + 91 9411083091.
E-mail address: Nav3091@rediffmail.com (N.K. Saxena).

0304-8853/$ - see front matter & 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jmmm.2010.03.032
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2642 N.K. Saxena et al. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 322 (2010) 2641–2646

Nomenclature T relaxation time

Ho applied bias field
fr resonant frequency DH magnetic resonance width of ferrite
d thickness of radome layer o angular frequency of incident e–m-waves
a attenuation constant oo external magnetic field angular frequency
b phase constant om internal magnetic field angular frequency
bo propagation constant in vacuum m’ real part of permeability
er dielectric constant m’’ dissipative part of permeability
meff effective permeability w0 real part of susceptibility
m, k permeability tensor components of meff w00 dissipative part of susceptibility
Kd ordinary propagation constant 4pMs saturation magnetization
Ke extraordinary propagation constant U gyromagnetic ratio (2.8 MHz/Oe)

stoichiometric ratio of the chemicals was thoroughly mixed in a polypropylene jar containing zirconium balls and distilled water was
used as a mixing agent. The presintering of the mixed powder was carried out at  750 1C in a box furnace and soaking time was kept 4 h.
The sieved material was pressed in disk (antenna substrate) and toroidal shapes with the help of suitable dies and using hydraulic
pressing technique at pressure of 10 ton/cm2. The substrates and toroidals were finally sintered at 1050 1C for 4 h.. The heating and
cooling cycle of the samples was carried out in the air atmosphere of furnace. The sintered sample so obtained was subjected to cutting,
grinding, polishing, etc., in order to get specific size and shape. The important material properties such as magnetic and electrical
properties were studied [13].
The single-phase spinel nature of the samples was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns obtained by using Cu-Ka radiation.
The microstructure studies of the sample were carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Vibrating sample magnetometer
(VSM) was used to determine the magnetic properties of the samples. For dielectric measurements, rectangular pellets of size
25 mm  13 mm  7 mm were used. The dielectric measurements were conducted from 8 to 12 GHz by VNA E8263B Agilent Technology
impedance analyzer. The value of the real part of dielectric constant ðe0 Þ of the ferrite samples was calculated using formula e0 ¼ Ct=ðeo AÞ
(where eo is the permittivity of free space¼8.854  10  12 F/m, C is the capacitance of specimen, ‘t’ is the thickness of specimen in square
meter). The density measurement was done by a small experiment based on Archimedes’ principle. Remanence and coercive force
measure by the B–H loop setup was applied to the coiled toroid sample at 50 Hz.
The Curie temperature for the LiTiMg ferrite samples has been determined by using a simple experimental setup based on gravity
effect in the laboratory. The ferrite specimen is made to attach itself to a bar magnet through a mild steel rod due to the magnetic
attraction and combination is suspended inside the furnace. A chromel–alumel thermocouple is attached with the sample holder to read
the temperature of the specimen. As the temperature of the system is increased, at a particular temperature the specimen loses it
spontaneous magnetization and becomes paramagnetic. This temperature is known as Curie temperature. At this temperature the
specimen falls downward due to gravity. The electrical and magnetic properties of LiTiMg ferrite substrate are experimentally calculated
and presented in Table 1.

3. Theory of operation

Consider a plane wave propagating in the perpendicular direction of radome layer with a magnetic bias field applied longitudinally.
On the basis of magnetic field directions the following waves are generated in the radome layer.

3.1. Magnetostatic mode of wave

MSW are generated when external magnetic field is applied to the perpendicular direction of the magnetic vector of EM waves.
MSW are two of types (1) surface MSW and (2) volume MSW. MSW will propagate perpendicularly on both sides to the EM wave’s
propagation [9].
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Vol:MSW : mo gH r mo g HðH þ Mo Þ ð1Þ
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Sur:MSW : mo g HðH þ Mo Þ r o r mo gHðH þ Mo =2Þ ð2Þ

Table 1
The electrical and magnetic properties of LiTiMg ferrite substrate.

LiTiMg ferrite characteristics Values

Magnetic saturation ( 4pMs ) 2200 Gauss

Curie temperature (Tc) 325 K
Density (r) 4.21 g/cm3
Remanence 0.90
Coercivity 2.54 Oe
Dielectric constant (e) 15
Resonance line width (DH) 290 Oe
Loss tangent (tan d) o 0.0009
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The absorption and transmission coefficients [9,10] due to the generation of MSW in the ferrite slab are:
2bo er ða sin 2bd þ a sin hð2adÞÞ
P¼ ð3Þ
b2o 2o ððcos bdÞ2 þ ðsin hð
e adÞÞ Þ þ ða2 þ b2 Þððsin bdÞ2 þðsin hðadÞÞ2 Þ þ bo er ða sin 2bd þ b sin hð2adÞÞ
2

2 2
8ð 2 þ b Þbo r
a e
T¼ 2 2 2 2 2 2
3 ð4Þ
½4b bo r þ ð 2 þ b þ bo 2r Þ2 cos hð2 dÞ
e a e a
6 7
6 þ 4bbo r ð 2 þ b2 þ b2 2 Þsin hð2 dÞ 7
e a e a
6 o r 7
6 7
6 ½4b2 b2o 2r þð 2 þ b2 b2o 2r Þcos hð2bdÞ 7
e a e
4 5
2 2
þ 4 bo r ð 2 þ b bo 2r Þsinð2bdÞ
a e a e
where
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
r sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
 qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
er
a ¼ bo ðm0 2 þ m2 Þm0
2

rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffisffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
e  qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
r
b ¼ bo ðm0 2þ m2 Þ þ m0
2

and
m0 ¼ 1þ w0
m¼w
where
om Tðoo þ oÞ
w0 ¼
ðoo oÞ2 T 2 þ 1
om T
w¼
ðoo oÞ2 T 2 þ 1
with
2 o
T¼ and bo ¼
g  DH c

3.2. Quasi-TEM mode of wave

As discussed in [14,15] for a biased ferrite slab, a normal incident plane wave may excite two types of waves (ordinary and
extraordinary wave). In the case of normal incident magnetic field biasing ordinary wave is the same as the plane wave in the dielectric
slab. On the other hand, the extraordinary wave is a TE mode polarized parallel to the biasing direction with its phase propagation
constant Ke. In the case of extraordinary mode, the propagation constant dependence on the basic parameters is given as
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ge ¼ ae þjbe ¼ jo meff er ð5Þ

where QUOTE is the effective permeability

m2 k2
meff ¼
m
oo
m ¼ 1 þ 2o m2
oo  o
oom
k¼ 2
oo o2
where oo ¼ gHo , om ¼ g4pMs , Ho is the bias field, 4pMs is the saturation magnetization, g is the gyromagnetic ratio as g ¼ 2:8 MHz=Oe In
the case of extraordinary wave mode, the propagation constant dependence on the basic parameters is given as
 2
Ke ðoo þ om Þ2 o2
¼ ð6Þ
Kd oo ðoo þ om Þo2
It is seen that, when meff is negative, the wave is decays even if the material is lossless. The frequency range of negative meff is

½oo ðoo þ om Þ1=2 o o o ðoo þ om Þ ð7Þ

The frequency limits define the approximate range within and around which the ferrite exhibits interesting microwave
characteristics.

4. Setup

Fig. 1 shows the arrangement of an experimental setup for the validation of the switchable ferrite radome effect.
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Fig. 1. Setup for radome power coefficients measurement. Ferrite is 2 mm thick with 2200 G saturation magnetization, 16 dielectric constant and 370 Oe magnetic
resonance width.

0.14
Trans. Coeff.
0.12 Absorp. Coeff.
Power Coefficient

0.1

0.08

0.06

0.04

0.02

0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
DC Magnetic Field (Ho)

Fig. 2. Comparison of transmission (T) and absorption (P) power coefficient with the varying DC magnetic field (Ho).

A 2  2 triangular microstrip patch array was fabricated on a Quartz substrate and operated at 10 GHz. A 1-cm foam spacer separated the
array face from the ferrite radome. The ferrite layer was 44 mm diameter, and was mounted between the poles of a laboratory
electromagnet. An Xband waveguide-to-coax adapter was used as a receiving antenna, and was spaced about 5 cm above the ferrite layer.
As illustrated in Fig. 1, a ferrite superstrate or radome layer can be placed above a microstrip antenna or array (or any type of antenna,
for that matter), and used as a switch. In practice such a ferrite layer could be spaced a small distance above the antenna, or placed
directly over the antenna as a superstrate layer. Spacing the ferrite above the antenna may be preferable for ease of biasing, and also to
minimize the direct interaction of the ferrite with the antenna elements.

5. Results

When the ferrite layer is unbiased, or biased to a state where meff 40, the antenna will transmit and receive as normal. When the ferrite
is biased to the cutoff state where meff o0, however, an incident wave will be transformed to quasi-TEM and magnetostatic waves, which
largely absorb and attenuate the incident RF waves.
From the graph of Fig. 2 we can see the absorbing power is maximum between 700 and 800 Oe, which is in good agreement with the
dispersion graph of Fig. 3 plotted for LiTiMgferrite radome layer.
The dispersion curve for the material has been plotted for the X band with 750 Oe magnetic field as shown in Fig. 3. It is clear that
when ferrite substrate is magnetized the propagation constant (k) varies with frequency and the initial linear part of the curve represents
Pozar’s quasi-TEM wave excitation, which is of very small order (1 0–1 0 0) in comparison to scale (108). The rest of the curve represents
the MSW and spin wave excitation. Spin wave excitation is the result of exchange forces between atoms.
In Fig. 3 propagation constant behavior also confirms the switching-off state of radome layer for cutoff frequency (w) around 5 GHz.
From Fig. 2 we can also observe the transmitted power coefficient variation with varying external DC magnetic field.
The amount of absorption and attenuation can be increased by operating the ferrite in a bias state to maximize power loss or by increasing
the thickness of the ferrite layer. If desired, dielectric matching layers could be placed on either side of the ferrite layer to reduce reflections.
Magnetic and dielectric losses will have the effect of increasing the amount of attenuation as compared to the lossless state (although at the
point of maximum cutoff the attenuation may actually decrease slightly with the addition of magnetic losses).
The amount of absorption and attenuation can be increased by operating the ferrite in a bias state to maximize power loss or by
increasing the thickness of the ferrite layer. If desired, dielectric matching layers could be placed on either side of the ferrite layer to
reduce reflections. Magnetic and dielectric losses will have the effect of increasing the amount of attenuation as compared to
the lossless state (although at the point of maximum cutoff the attenuation may actually decrease slightly with the addition of magnetic
losses). Figs. 4 and 5 depict the comparison of transmission and absorption power coefficient, respectively, for h ¼2 and 1.65 mm with
the varying DC magnetic field (Ho).
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9
x 10
10

Cutoff Frequency (f)

Switchability Region

4
Quasi TEM Wave Excitation (in order of 10-100)

2 Magnetostatic Wave Excitation Spin Wave Excitation

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
8
Wave Propagation Constant (k) x 10

Fig. 3. Dispersion curve (f vs. k) of em-waves in LiTiMg for incident plane wave perpendicular to biased radome layer by 750 Oe magnetic field in the X band frequency range.

5000
h = 2.00 mm
Power Transmission Coeff. (T)

h = 1.65 mm
4000

3000

2000

1000

0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
DC Magnetic Field (Ho)

Fig. 4. Comparison of transmission power coefficient (T) for h¼ 2 and 1.65 mm with the varying DC magnetic field (Ho) in the X band frequency range.

-3
20 x 10
h = 2.00 mm
Power Absorption Coeff. (P/Po)

h = 1.65 mm

15

10

0
0 500 1000 1500 2000
DC Magnetic Field (Ho)

Fig. 5. Comparison of absorption power coefficient (P) for h¼ 2 and 1.65 mm with the varying DC magnetic field (Ho) in the X band frequency range.

6. Conclusion

The dispersion characteristics of thin layer radome of LiTiMg ferrite under external DCmagnetic is presented. The Resulting absorbing
power coefficients graph verifies the dispersion relation graph obtained by quasi-TEM cutoff frequency range. As discussed, this is a very
simple approach that ignores reflections at the ferrite–air interfaces, as well as multiple reflections between the ferrite and antenna
layers, but it is found to give a reasonable justification of the attenuation through the radome layer. More sophisticated (e.g., full-wave)
analysis may be necessary if the ferrite layer is in direct contact with the antenna or array. It is seen that the frequency where maximum
attenuation occurs can be tuned by adjusting the bias field. Also note that the attenuation is greater for higher frequencies, primarily
because the ferrite layer looks electrically thicker.
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