Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-019-02526-z Development of novel Bi 1−x Sm x FeO 3 based polymer‑ceramic nanocomposite for microwave application R. Anlin Golda 1  · A. Marikani 2  · E. John Alex 3 Received: 31 August 2019 / Accepted: 5 November 2019 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO 3 ) is a widely explored magneto electric ceramic whose properties can be enhanced through dop- ing with a rare earth metal like samarium. Methoxy assisted sol–gel technique was used in the synthesis of pure phase bismuth ferrite and various concentrations of samarium doped bismuth ferrite Bi 1−x Sm x FeO 3 where x = 0.05 and x = 0.1 (Bi 0.95 Sm 0.05 FeO 3 , Bi 0.9 Sm 0.1 FeO 3 ) nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized for their structural, morphological, and electrical behavior. The synthesized nanoparticles were used in the making of polymer-ceramic nanocom- posite flms by homogenous dispersion of the nanoparticles into the polyvinylacetate (PVA) polymer matrix. The developed Bi 1−x Sm x FeO 3 /PVA nanocomposite flms were characterized for their structural, functional and dielectric characteristics that proved it to be used in the development of microwave devices for transient electronics. Based on the dielectric characteriza- tion, microstrip patch antennas were successfully designed, simulated and fabricated to function in the X Band (8 to 12 GHz) with polymer-ceramic (Bi 1−x Sm x FeO 3 /PVA) nanocomposite flm as the substrate materials. The comparative analysis of the designed antennas showed excellent improvement in bandwidth and directivity. Bi 1−x Sm x FeO 3 /PVA nanocomposite flms are found to be a favorable material for fexible transient electronics through controlled doping concentration. 1 Introduction Steady growth in the feld of RF/microwave devices is pri- marily due to its application in defense electronics. The need for digital systems in communication, missiles, smart surveillance has resulted in the invention of new materials, structures, and fabrication techniques. Specifcally, a sig- nifcant growth was noticed in the development of anten- nas were the invention of metamaterials has resulted in the fabrication of smaller, weightless, and wearable antennas. Antenna material research involves nanostructures, compos- ite materials, and techniques of metallization. The composite material helps in varying the property of the substrates by adding suitable fllers. Nanocomposite materials for anten- nas include carbon composites [1], graphene based patch [2], nanopaper composite substrates [3], liquid crystal polymers [4], and magneto-dielectric substrates like nickel zinc fer- rite [5], etc. Among the above mentioned substrates, pol- ymer-ceramic nanocomposites developed for antennas are known to possess excellent fexibility and unique proper- ties that cannot be achieved through commercial substrates. Design challenges with new material includes the develop- ment of miniature antennas (with sizes < λ/10), with wide bandwidth and performance, the fexibility of the antenna without deformation, ease of fabrication, and reduction in dielectric loss. The polymer-ceramic nanocomposites sat- isfy these design challenges with certain tolerable limita- tions. Juan et al. [6] prepared a high permittivity, low loss, fexible substrate on a polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS) with neodymium titanate (NdTiO 3 ) and calcium doped magne- sium titanate(MgCaTiO 2 ) fllers and fabricated a microstrip patch antenna which resonated at 19.6 GHz with a return loss of 20 dB. Miniaturization of antennas using the poly- mer-ceramic composite was demonstrated by Yieng et al. [7] where 84% size reduction of microstrip patch antennas was achieved using polydimethylsiloxane—barium titanate (PDMS-BaTiO 3 ) substrates. The polymer-ceramic nanocom- posites substrates can be synthesized with varying dielectric property for the design of specifc antenna structures like the * R. Anlin Golda anlingolda@gmail.com 1 Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, JACSI College of Engineering, Nazareth, Tamil Nadu, India 2 Department of Physics, Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, India 3 Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, CMR Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, Telangana, India