Laser induced adjustment of the conductivity of rare earth doped Mn-Zn nanoferrite

Two series of Mn-Zn nanoferrites (namely Mn_1-xZn_xFe₂O₄ and Mn_1-xZn_xFe_2-yR_yO₄) were synthesized using standard ceramic technique. X-ray diffraction and FT-IR were employed in the chacterization of the nanopowder. The X-ray density for each sample increased after laser irradiation which was correlated with the decrease in the unit cell volume. The study involved the thermal and frequency variation of the dielectric constant and AC conductivity of the investigated samples before and after laser irradiation. The later altered the conductivity by decreasing its value for the rare earth doped samples except for the Sm³⁺ doped one. The results suggested the exploitation of Mn-Zn doped rare earth nanoferrites in many technological applications demanding high resistivity.