The microwave cavity perturbation (MCP) technique is used to identify the transition from magnetite (Fe3O4) to the meta-stable form of maghemite (γ-Fe2O3). In this study Fe3O4 was annealed at temperatures from 60 to 300 °C to vary the oxidation. Subsequent to annealing, the complex permittivity and magnetic permeability of the iron oxide powders were measured. The transition to γ-Fe2O3 was corroborated with x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). XRD, XPS and VSM implied that the starting powder was consistent with Fe3O4 and the powders annealed at more than 200 °C were transitioning to γ-Fe2O3. The MCP measurements gave large differences in both complex permittivity and magnetic permeability of the two phases in the frequency range of 2.5-10.2 GHz. Magnetic permeability decreased with annealing temperature, though magnetic losses showed frequency dependent behaviour. Complex permittivity measurements showed a large decrease in both dielectric constant and losses at all measurement frequencies, as well as a prominent loss peak centred around the phase transition temperatures. We interpret the loss peak as being a consequence of field effects due to an intermediate multi-phase mixture. Additionally, almost no frequency dependence was observed. The reduction in complex permittivity implies that the Feoct(2+) cations in the lattice provide a significant contribution to polarization at microwave frequencies and the effects of Feoct(3+) are nominal in comparison.. The change in loss can be explained as a combination of the differences in the effective conductivity of the two phases (i.e. Fe3O4 exhibits electron-hopping conduction whereas the presence of vacancies in γ-Fe2O3 nullifies this). This shows that the non-invasive MCP measurements serve as a highly sensitive and versatile method for looking at this phase transition in iron and potentially the effects of oxidation states on the polarization in other iron oxides.

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This paper reports on a design for a coil for transcranial magnetic stimulation. The design shows potential for improving the penetration depth of the magnetic field, allowing stimulation of subcortical structures within the brain. The magnetic and induced electric fields in the human head have been calculated with finite element electromagnetic modeling software and compared with empirical measurements. Results show that the coil design used gives improved penetration depth, but also indicates the likelihood of stimulation of additional tissue resulting from the spatial distribution of the magnetic field. This paper reports on a design for a coil for transcranial magnetic stimulation. The design shows potential for improving the penetration depth of the magnetic field, allowing stimulation of subcortical structures within the brain. The magnetic and induced electric fields in the human head have been calculated with finite element electromagnetic modeling software and compared with empirical measurements. Results show that the coil design used gives improved penetration depth, but also indicates the likelihood of stimulation of additional tissue resulting from the spatial distribution of the magnetic field.

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The temperature dependence of magnetization, magnetic anisotropy, and coercive field of gallium-substituted cobaltferrite was investigated for a series of compositions of CoGaxFe2−xO4 (0⩽x⩽0.8). Hysteresis loops were measured for each sample over the range of −5T⩽μ0H⩽5T for selected temperatures between 10 and 400K. The magnetization at 5T and low temperatures was found to increase for the lower Ga contents (x=0.2 and 0.4) compared to pure CoFe2O4, indicating that at least initially, Ga3+substitutes predominantly into the tetrahedral sites of the spinel structure. The high field regions of these loops were modeled using the law of approach to saturation, which represents the rotational process, together with an additional linear forced magnetization term. The first order cubic magnetocrystalline anisotropy coefficient K1 was calculated from curve fitting to these data. It was found that K1 decreased with increasing Ga content at all temperatures. Both anisotropy and coercivity increased substantially as temperature decreased. Below 150K, for certain compositions (x=0, 0.2, 0.4), the maximum applied field of μ0H=5T was less than the anisotropy field and, therefore, insufficient to saturate the magnetization. In these cases, the use of the law of approach method can lead to calculated values of K1 which are lower than the correct value. KeywordsMagenetic anisotropy, Cobalt, Ferrites, Anisotropy, Materials properties Disciplines Electromagnetics and Photonics | Materials Science and Engineering CommentsThe following article appeared in Journal of Applied Physics 103 (2008) The temperature dependence of magnetization, magnetic anisotropy, and coercive field of gallium-substituted cobalt ferrite was investigated for a series of compositions of CoGa x Fe 2−x O 4 ͑0 ഛ x ഛ 0.8͒. Hysteresis loops were measured for each sample over the range of −5 T ഛ 0 H ഛ 5 T for selected temperatures between 10 and 400 K. The magnetization at 5 T and low temperatures was found to increase for the lower Ga contents ͑x = 0.2 and 0.4͒ compared to pure CoFe 2 O 4 , indicating that at least initially, Ga 3+ substitutes predominantly into the tetrahedral sites of the spinel structure. The high field regions of these loops were modeled using the law of approach to saturation, which represents the rotational process, together with an additional linear forced magnetization term. The first order cubic magnetocrystalline anisotropy coefficient K 1 was calculated from curve fitting to these data. It was found that K 1 decreased with increasing Ga content at all temperatures. Both anisotropy and coercivity increased substantially as temperature decreased. Below 150 K, for certain compositions ͑x = 0, 0.2, 0.4͒, the maximum applied field of 0 H = 5 T was less than the anisotropy field and, therefore, insufficient to saturate the magnetization. In these cases, the use of the law of approach method can lead to calculated values of K 1 which are lower than the correct value.