Local dielectric measurements of BaTiO 3 –CoFe 2 O 4 nanocomposites through microwave microscopy

We report on linear and non-linear dielectric property measurements of BaTiO3 – CoFe2O4 (BTO-CFO) ferroelectro-magnetic nano-composites and pure BaTiO3 and CoFe2O4 samples with Scanning Near Field Microwave Microscopy. The permittivity scanning image with spatial resolution on the μm scale shows that the nano-composites have very uniform quality with an effective dielectric constant er = 140 ± 6.4 at 3.8 GHz and room temperature. The temperature dependence of dielectric permittivity shows that the Curie temperature of pure BTO was shifted by the clamping effect of the MgO substrate, whereas the Curie temperature shift of the BTO ferroelectric phase in BTO-CFO composites is less pronounced, and if it exists at all, would be mainly caused by the CFO. Non-linear dielectric measurements of BTO-CFO show good ferroelectric properties from the BTO.