Characteristics of hydrothermally deposited nanostructured (NiZn) Fe2O4 films.

This work is devoted to the hydrothermal deposition of nanostructured (NiZn) Fe2O4 films on PCB substrates and their structural, morphological and electro-magnetic characterisation. Ferrite films were prepared by the hydrothermal treatment of iron, nickel and zinc nitrate solutions in the presence of reduced iron powder and urea at a temperature of 150 degrees C for 2 hrs. The resulting films with a black appearance are homogeneous without visible pores. The film formed is polycrystalline with a spinel structure and a thickness of about 1.5 microm. Characterisation of the films by a variety of techniques showed that their magnetic and electrical properties are comparable to those of films prepared by other methods reported in the literature.