Microwave Synthesis of Yttrium Iron Garnet Powder

Abstract

A 28 GHz microwave heating method was used to react an Fe 2 O 3 + Y 2 O 3 powder mixture to form yttrium iron garnet (YIG, Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 ) powder. The minimum temperature to form YIG was lower than the conventional (external) heating method. YIG began to form after only 70 s of irradiation, which means that the solid‐state reaction proceeded very rapidly. The amounts of byproducts were controlled by the starting composition and by the Y 2 O 3 particle size. The resultant YIG particle size also was controlled by the Y 2 O 3 particle size.