1

The first magnetic material exploited by man as a navigational tool was a ceramic material-
the natural mineral magnetite (Fe
3
O
4
) also known as lodestone.It is thus somewhat
paradoxical that it was as late as the mid-fifties of this century that magnetic ceramics started
making significant commercial inroads. Since then magnetic ceramics have acquired an ever
increasing share of world production and have largely surpassed metallic magnets in tonnage.
With the advent of the information communication revolution, their use is expected to
become even more essential.
The magnetic characteristics of ceramic materials are of increasing importance as the
field of solid state electronics continues to expand. Although the lodestone was known to
have useful magnetic properties at the beginning of the thirteenth century, it was in 1946 that
studies of J.L. Snoeck at the Philips Laboratories in Holland led to the discovery of oxide
ceramics with strong magnetic properties, high electrical resistivity and low relaxation losses.
Ceramic magnets are often used in high frequency devices in which the greater resistivity of
the ferromagnetic oxide gives them a decisive advantage over metals. Their use as circuit
elements for radio, television, and electronic devices has increased as this technology has
developed over the last thirty years. The use of ceramic magnets as memory units with rapid
switching times in digital computers has been essential to the explosion of computer
technology. Magnetic ceramics are important as special circuit elements in microwave
devices and in devices which rely on their permanent magnet behaviour.
Attributes of Ceramic magnets:-
High intrinsic coercive force.
Tooling is expensive.
Least expensive material compared to alnico and rare earth magnets.
Limited to simple shapes due to manufacturing process.
Lower service temperature than alnico, greater than rare earth.
Finishing requires diamond cutting or grinding wheel.
Lower energy product than alnico and rare earth magnets.
Most common grades of ceramic magnets are 1, 5 and 8 (1-8 possible).
Grade 8 is the strongest ceramic magnet available.

2

Ceramic magnets can be broadly classified into two parts:-
Ferrite Magnets.
High T
c
superconductor magnets.

Ferrites are chemical compounds consisting of ceramic materials with iron (III) oxide (Fe
2
O
3
)
as their principal component. Many of them are
magnetic materials and they are used to make
permanent magnets, ferrite cores for transformers, and
in various other applications. Ferrites are usually non-
conductive ferrimagnetic ceramic compounds derived
from iron oxides such as hematite (Fe
2
O
3
) or magnetite
(Fe
3
O
4
) as well as oxides of other metals. Ferrites are,
like most other ceramics, hard and brittle. In terms of
their magnetic properties, the different ferrites are
often classified as "soft" or "hard", which refers to
their low or high magnetic coercivity.
Many ferrites are spinels with the formula AB
2
O
4
, where A and B represent various
metal cations, usually including iron Fe. Spinel ferrites usually adopt a crystal motif
consisting of cubic close-packed(fcc) oxides (O
2
) with A cations occupying one eighth of
the tetrahedral holes and B cations occupying half of the octahedral holes. If one eight of the
tetrahedral holes are occupied by B cation, then one fourth of the octahedral sites are
occupied by A cation and the other one fourth by B cation and it's called the inverse spinel
structure. It's also possible to have mixed structure spinel ferrites with formula [M
2+
1-

Fe
3+

][M
2+

Fe
3+
2-
]O
4
where is the degree of inversion.
The magnetic material known as "ZnFe" has the formula ZnFe
2
O
4
, with Fe
3+

occupying the octahedral sites and Zn
2+
occupy the tetrahedral sites, is an example of normal
structure spinel ferrite.
Some ferrites have hexagonal crystal structure, e.g. barium ferrite BaO.6Fe
2
O
3
or
BaFe
12
O
19
.
Figure 1: A stack of ferrite magnets

3

There are two types of ferrite magnets:-
Soft ferrite magnets.
Hard ferrite magnets.
In soft ferrite, there are two chemical formulas, spinel type (MeFe
2
O
4
) and the garnet type
(Me
3
Fe
5
O
12
). Soft ferrite has small coercive force of a hysteresis loop, and generally
permeability is of prime importance. Magnetic flux density is large and magnetocrystalline
anisotropy and magnetostriction are small so that permeability increases. With spinel type
structure, as magnetocrystalline anisotropy is comparatively smaller, the permeability is
large. The requisite characteristics of ferrite are high Curie temperature, high permeability,
and high stability, but it cannot satisfy all these requirements so that various spinel types of
ferrites are being used depending upon the purpose.
Most common examples of soft ferrites are the MnZn ferrite and the NiZn spinel
ferrites. NiZn ferrites have a very high resistivity and are most suitable for frequencies over 1
MHz, however MnZn ferrites exhibit higher permeability and saturation induction levels and
are suitable up to 3 MHz.

Figure 2: Temperature dependence of saturated magnetic moment of NiZn ferrite

4

Table 1: Magnetic properties of soft ferrites

MANUFACTURING PROCESSES OF SOFT FERRITES:-
The following description of the production process is typical for the manufacture of soft
ferrites.
RAW MATERIALS
The raw materials used are oxides or carbonates of the constituent metals. The final material
grade determines the necessary purity of the raw materials used, which, as a result is reflected
in the overall cost.
PROPORTIONS OF THE COMPOSITION
The base materials are weighed into the correct proportions for the final composition.
MIXING
The powders are mixed to obtain a uniform distribution of the components.
PRE-SINTERING
The mixed oxides are calcined at approximately 1000
0
C. A solid state reaction takes place
between the constituents and at this stage a ferrite is already formed. Pre-sintering is not
essential but provides a number of advantages during the rest of the production process.

5

MILLING AND GRANULATION
The pre-sintered material is milled to a specific particle size, usually in a slurry with water. A
small proportion of organic binder is added, and then the slurry is spray-dried to form
granules suitable for the forming process.
FORMING
Most ferrite parts are formed by pressing. The granules are poured into a suitable die and then
compressed. The organic binder acts in a similar way to an adhesive and a so called green
product is formed. It is still very fragile and requires sintering to obtain the final ferrite
properties. For some products, for example, long rods and tubes, the material is mixed into a
dough and extruded through a suitable orifice. The final products are cut to the required
length before or after sintering.
SINTERING
The green cores are loaded on refractory plates and sintered at a temperature between 1150
0
C
and 1300
0
C depending on the ferrite grade. A linear shrinkage of up to 20%(50% in volume)
takes place. The sintering may take place in tunnel kilns having a fixed temperature and
atmosphere distribution or in box kilns where temperature and atmosphere are computer
controlled as a function of time. The latter type is more suitable for high grade ferrites which
require a very stringent control in conditions.
FINISHING
After sintering, the ferrite core has the required magnetic properties. It can easily be
magnetized by an external field, exhibiting the well- known hysteresis effect. Dimensions are
typically within 2% of due to 10-20% shrinkage. If this tolerance is too large or if some
surfaces require a smooth finish(e.g. mating faces between core halves) a grinding operation
is necessary. Usually smooth diamond-coated wheels are used. For high permeability
materials, very smooth, lapped, mating surfaces are required. If an air gap is required in the
application, it may be provided by centre pole grinding.
MAIN USES OF SOFT FERRITE magnets:-
Some of the main uses of soft ferrite magnets are enlisted in the table on the next page.

6


Permanent ferrite magnets are made of hard ferrites, which have a high coercivity and high
remanence after magnetization. These are composed of iron and barium or strontium oxides.
The high coercivity means the materials are very resistant to becoming demagnetized, an
essential characteristic for a permanent magnet. They also conduct magnetic flux well and
have a high magnetic permeability. This enables these so-called ceramic magnets to store
stronger magnetic fields than iron itself. They are cheap, and are widely used in household

7

products such as refrigerator magnets. The maximum magnetic field B is about 0.35 tesla and
the magnetic field strength H is about 30 to 160 kiloampere turns per meter (400 to 2000
oersteds). The density of ferrite magnets is about 5g/cm
3
.
The most common hard ferrites are:
Strontium ferrite, SrFe
12
O
19
(SrO.6Fe
2
O
3
), a common material for permanent
magnet applications.
Barium ferrite, BaFe
12
O
19
(BaO.6Fe
2
O
3
), a common material for permanent magnet
applications. Barium ferrites are robust ceramics that are generally stable to moisture
and corrosion-resistant. They are used in e.g. subwoofer magnets and as a medium for
magnetic recording, e.g. on magnetic stripe cards.
Cobalt ferrite, CoFe
2
O
4
(CoO.Fe
2
O
3
), used in some media for magnetic recording.
History
Development: End of the 1940s.
Use: Beginning of the 1950s.
Production begins at Magnetfabrik Schramberg in 1963.
PROPERTIES OF HARD FERRITE MAGNETS
Hard ferrite magnets show the following important properties.
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
As ceramic materials, ferrites are brittle and sensitive to impact and bending loads. Under
impact, they easily splinter. Processing such as grinding and cutting requires diamond tools
because the ceramics are so hard (Mohs 6 - 7).Water jet cutting is also possible.
TEMPERATURE BEHAVIOUR
Temperature changes affect the magnetic behaviour of hard ferrite magnets. The remanence
decreases with rising temperature and increases with falling temperature (temperature
coefficient, - 0.2 % per Kelvin).The coercivity increases with rising temperature and
decreases with falling temperature (temperature coefficient, + 0.3 % per Kelvin). These

8

processes are reversible. Note, however, that magnets with low operating point and/or

Figure 3: Temperature behaviour of SrFe
12
O
19

opposing magnetic fields can, however, suffer persistent loss of magnetisation caused by
reduction of coercivity at high temperatures.
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES
Hard ferrites have high coercivity and high remanence after magnetization. The high
coercivity means the materials are very resistant to becoming demagnetized, an essential
characteristic for a permanent magnet. They also conduct magnetic flux well and have a high
magnetic permeability. Thus they have stronger magnetic fields than iron itself. The
maximum magnetic field B is about 0.35 tesla and the magnetic field strength H is about 30
to 160 kiloampere turns per meter (400 to 2000 oersteds).
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES/CORROSION RESISTANCE
Ferrite magnets are oxide ceramics in the stoichiometries of BaFe
12
O
19
or SrFe
12
O
19.
They

9

consist of about 90 % iron oxide (Fe
2
O
3
) and about 10 % alkali earth oxide (BaO or SrO),
raw materials that are abundantly and economically available.Typical for oxide ceramics,
they are relatively resistant to moisture, solvents, alkaline solutions,weak acids, salts,
lubricants, and noxious gasses. Normally, hard ferrite magnets can be used without additional
protection, such as a coating. Resistance to strong organic and inorganic acids, such as oxalic,
hydrochloric, sulphuric, or hydrofluoric acid, depends on the temperature, concentration, and
time of exposure to the medium.
MANUFACTURING PROCESSES OF HARD FERRITE MAGNETS
The following processes are typical for the manufacture of hard ferrite magnets.
RAW MATERIAL AVAILABILITY
The essential components of hard ferrite magnets are
iron oxide and either barium carbonate or strontium
carbonate. Iron oxide and the alkali earth elements
barium and strontium occur in nature in sufficient
abundance.
Iron oxide is also a by-product of industrial steel
processing.
RAW MATERIAL SOURCES
Iron oxide and alkali earths: From nature by
open pit mining, iron oxide industrially.
Warm rolled steel sheet is pickled. The iron
chloride from the pickling is then converted
to iron oxide. The alkali earths are industrially
converted to barium carbonate and strontium
carbonate.
FORMING
Ring, disc, segment, and rectangular magnets are the most common shapes for the permanent
magnets produced by pressing techniques. More unusual shapes can also be produced. It is
Figure 4: Manufacturing process of hard ferrite magnets.

10

better to press the magnets into the desired shapes, since subsequent shape changes (adding
drill holes, chamfers, notches, indentations, and similar) are labour-intensive and require
diamond tools. Note that these shape features can be produced only in the pressing direction.
Since for anisotropic magnets, the direction of magnetisation is the same as the pressing
direction, drill holes, chamfers, notches, indentations, and similar can be produced only in the
direction of magnetisation.
PRE-SINTERING AND SINTERING
The raw materials are mixed in the correct proportions, granulated, and calcined
(presintered). After going through several intermediate phases, a hexaferrite phase
(BaFe
12
O
19
or SrFe
12
O
19
) is achieved. The presintered granulate is ground to a powder. It can
then be pressed wet or dry in a magnetic field (anisotropic) or in the absence of a magnetic
field (isotropic) and sintered.
MAGNETIZING
Ferrite magnets require magnetizing fields of about 10 kOe. They can be magnetized with
multiple poles on one or both pole surfaces.
Anisotropic grades are oriented in the manufacturing direction, and must be
magnetized in the direction of orientation. Isotropic grades are not oriented and can be
magnetized in any direction, although some degree of greater magnetic strength will be found
in the pressing dimension, usually the shortest dimension.
PROCESSING
Hard ferrites are ceramic materials, with the mechanical hardness and brittleness typical of
ceramics. A typical way of processing them is by grinding with diamond discs.
APPLICATIONS OF HARD FERRITE MAGNETS
Typical applications for hard ferrites are found in:
Industrial electronics.
Sensor technology.
Television and radio technology.
Loudspeaker magnets.

11

Magnetic clamps, adhesive magnets or toy magnets.
Ring magnets or segment magnets in motors and generators for magnetic clutches.
Automotive industry, automotive engineering.
Clock and watch industry.
Household appliances, refrigerator seals.
Rotors for direct current motors.

On the basis of their crystal structures ferrites can be classified into :-
Spinel or cubic ferrites.
Garnets.
Hexagonal ferrites.
Among these, spinel ferrites and garnets are magnetically soft while hexagonal ferrites are
magnetically hard.
Spinel ferrites have the formula M(Fe
2
O
4
), where M is usually a divalent cation such as
manganese (Mn
2+
), nickel (Ni
2+
), cobalt (Co
2+
), zinc (Zn
2+
), copper (Cu
2+
), or magnesium
(Mg
2+
). M can also represent the monovalent lithium
cation (Li
+
) or even vacancies, as long as these absences
of positive charge are compensated for by additional
trivalent iron cations (Fe
3+
). The oxygen anions (O
2
)
adopt a close-packed cubic crystal structure, and the metal
cations occupy the interstices in an unusual two-lattice
arrangement. In each unit cell, containing 32 oxygen
anions, 8 cations are coordinated by 4 oxygens
(tetrahedral sites), and 16 cations are coordinated by 6
oxygens (octahedral sites). The antiparallel alignment and
incomplete cancellation of magnetic spins between the two sublattices leads to a permanent
Figure 5: Spinel structure

12

magnetic moment. Because spinels are cubic in structure, with no preferred direction of
magnetization, they are soft magnetically; i.e., it is relatively easy to change the direction
of magnetization through the application of an external magnetic field.
Garnet ferrites have the structure of the silicate mineral
garnet and the chemical formula M
3
(Fe
5
O
12
), where M is
yttrium or a rare-earth ion. In addition to tetrahedral and
octahedral sites, such as those seen in spinels, garnets
have dodecahedral (12-coordinated) sites. The net
ferrimagnetism is thus a complex result of antiparallel
spin alignment among the three types of sites. Garnets
are also magnetically soft.
The so-called hexagonal ferrites have the formula M(Fe
12
O
19
), where M is usually barium
(Ba), strontium (Sr), or lead (Pb). The crystal structure is complex, but it can be described as
hexagonal with a unique c axis, or vertical axis. This is the easy axis of magnetization in the
basic structure. Because the direction of magnetization cannot be changed easily to another
axis, hexagonal ferrites are referred to as hard.
Commercially the most important hexagonal ferrite is
BaO.6Fe
2
O
3
which is isostructural with a mineral known
as magneto-plumbite and is the reason hexagonal ferrites
are sometimes called magnetoferrites. Hexagonal ferrites
have very high crystal anisotropy constants and so are
used to fabricate hard ferrite magnets with high coercive
fields. They are mostly used in loudspeakers and d.c.
motors.
Some common applications of ferrite magnets are :-
Figure 6: Garnet structure
Figure 7: Hexagonal ferrite structure

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PERMANENT MAGNETS
Hard magnetic ferrites are used as permanent magnets and in refrigerator seal gaskets. They
also are used in microphones and speaker gaskets. The largest market for permanent magnets
is in small motors for cordless appliances and in automobile applications.
ELECTRIC CIRCUITS
Although ceramic ferrites have smaller saturation magnetizations than magnetic metals, they
can be made much more resistive to electric currents. In soft ferrites this is accomplished by
oxidizing the grain boundaries during processing to yield resistive internal layers. Greater
resistivity reduces the occurrence of eddy currents, which are caused by rapidly fluctuating
magnetic fields and result in the loss of signal energy to heat. As a consequence of their
reduction of eddy currents, soft ceramic ferrites are employed in telecommunications and
transformers, especially at higher frequencies.
One of the earliest uses of ceramic ferrites was as a channel filter in telephony,
although solid-state filters and fibre optics are making this application obsolete. Ferrites are
used in the tone-generating circuitry of push-button telephones and as load coils in
transmission lines to reduce signal loss over long distances. A major application is as
deflection yokes and fly-back transformers for control of electron-beam rastering in
television sets. Ferrites also are used extensively as input and output filters, switching
regulators, and high-frequency power transformers in electric power systems.
Magnetic storage
The earliest non-volatile memory for computers consisted of tiny wire-threaded ferrite
torroids; their two stable states of remanence were able to represent the 1 and 0 of binary
logic. This application has long since been taken over by semiconductor memory devices, but
ferrites still dominate external memory storage on devices such as tape, floppy disks, and
hard disks. In place of torroids, very small regions of acicular (needle-like) particles adhering
to the tape or disk can be magnetized by a field in the gap of a recording head. (The head is
also often made from ferrite material.) Ferrite tape media, typically gamma-ferrite (-Fe
2
O
3
),
is used for analog audio and video recording. Computer bubble memory has been developed
based on magnetic garnet ferrites. In bubble memory small, cylindrically reversed magnetic

14

domains can be generated, moved, and stored in specified locations to be read at a later time.
The presence or absence of a bubble corresponds to the two binary logic states.
Microwave and radar
At microwave frequencies (from 1 to 300 gigahertz) ferrites offer gyromagnetic properties;
i.e., they can rotate and direct microwave energy in devices called circulators. Radar-
absorbing paint made from ferrites can be used to coat military aircraft for stealth operations.
High-temperature superconductors (abbreviated high-T
c
or HTS) are materials that
behave as superconductors at unusually high transition temperatures. The first high-T
c

superconductor was discovered in 1986 by IBM researchers Karl Muller and Johannes
Bednorz, who were awarded the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics "for their important break-
through in the discovery of superconductivity in ceramic materials".
Whereas "ordinary" or metallic superconductors usually have transition temperatures
(temperatures below which they superconduct) of about 30 K (243.2 C), HTS
superconductors have been observed with transition temperatures as high as 138 K (135
C). Until recently, only certain compounds of copper and oxygen (so-called "cuprates") were
believed to have HTS properties, and the term high-temperature superconductor was used
interchangeably with cuprate superconductor for compounds such as bismuth strontium
calcium copper oxide (BSCCO) and yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO). However, several
Iron based compounds are now known to be superconducting at high temperatures.
The properties of high T
c
superconductors are :-
They have superconductivity transition temperatures above 30 K.
They have a transition temperature that is a larger fraction of the Fermi temperature
than for conventional superconductors such as elemental mercury or lead.
Examples of high-T
c
cuprate superconductors include La
1.85
Ba
0.15
CuO
4
, having T
c
40 K, and
YBCO (Yttrium-Barium-Copper-Oxide), having T
c
90 K, which is famous as the first
material to achieve superconductivity above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen.
HgBa
2
Ca
2
Cu
3
O
x
has the highest known transition temperature till date of 195 K.

15

MAGNETIC LEVITATION CAUSED BY SUPERCONDUCTORS
Superconductors can cause magnetic levitations by the following process.
Magnetic fields are actively excluded from
superconductors (called the Meissner
effect).
If a small magnet is brought near a
superconductor, it will be repelled
becaused induced supercurrents will
produce mirror images of each pole.
If a small permanent magnet is placed above a superconductor, it can be levitated by
this repulsive force.
Yttrium Barium Copper Oxide (YBCO)
YBCO, having the chemical formula YBa
2
Cu
3
O
7-x
, has a transition temperature of 90 K. It
was discovered in January 1987. It is prepared by
heating powder mixtures of Y
2
O
3
, BaCO
3
, and CuO
in the right proportions to temperatures between 900
and 1100
0
C. This is often followed by annealing at
800
0
C in an atmosphere of oxygen. The heat
treatment conditions such as partial pressure of
oxygen in the atmosphere are critical for obtaining a
high T
c
. The crystal structure of YBCO is related to
the cubic perovskite structure.
The engineering aspects of this superconductor remain elusive. It is reactive, brittle,
unable to support any significant stress and cannot be formed or joined. Also the
superconducting properties deteriorate during heating and forming processes. However
explosive pressing and isotactic pressing are two forming methods that can be used for
YBCO. Research on YBCO is at a preliminary stage but it is widely believed that it will be
very important in many different fields in the near future.

Figure 8: Magnetic levitation
Figure 9: Structure of YBCO

16

APPLICATIONS OF HIGH Tc SUPERCONDUCTORS
High T
c
superconductors have the following typical applications.
They are used for producing strong magnetic fields of 50 Tesla which are much larger
than fields obtainable from electromagnets. Such high fields are required in MHD
power generators.
Superconductors can be used to perform logic and storage operations in computers
(Josephson Junction).
Arising from the Meissner effect, a superconductor material can be suspended in the
air against the repulsive force from a permanent magnet. This magnetic levitation can
be used in transportation (maglev).
Superconductor materials can be used to make superconducting cables. Power can be
transmitted through superconducting cables without loss.
Superconductor materials are used to make magnets for high energy particle
accelerators.
Even though ceramics has played a vital role in in the production of magnets over the ages, it
is only recently that they have replaced metallic magnets in terms of commercial viability.
New breakthroughs are being made in the field of magnetic ceramics even today and their
applications are almost limitless. They have immense applications both in industry and in our
own homes. They are used in refrigerators, radios, televisions and other household items.
Magnetic ceramics are expected to play a very important role in future technology
development due to the advent of high T
c
ceramic superconductors. Thus the field of
magnetic ceramics has far-reaching applications in all dimensions and it is one of the most
studied and researched fields of the present generation.



17