The electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption properties of the nanocrystalline powder mixed with 5 to 20 vol% of Ni-Zn ferrites has been investigated in a frequency range from 100MHz to 10GHz. Amorphous ribbons prepared by a planar flow casting process were pulverized and milled after annealing at 425 for 1 hour. The powder was mixed with a ferrite powder at various volume ratios to tape-cast into a 1.0mm thick sheet. Results showed that the EM wave absorption sheet with Ni-Zn ferrite powder reduced complex permittivity due to low dielectric constant of ferrite compared with nanocrystalline powder, while that with 5 vol% of ferrite showed relatively higher imaginary part of permeability. The sheet mixed with 5 vol% ferrite powder showed the best electromagnetic wave absorption properties at high frequency ranges, which resulted from the increased imaginary part of permeability due to reduced eddy current.

The oxidation of nanocrystalline powder has been conducted to investigate its influence on the electromagnetic wave absorption characteristics of the soft magnetic material. Oxidation occurred primarily on the surface of nanocrystals. Oxidation reduced the real part of complex permeability due to the reduction of the relative volume of the powder, which otherwise contributes to the permeability. Oxidation reduced the absorption efficiency of the sheet at frequencies over 1GHz, indicating that the relative contribution of skin depth increments to the absorption was not significant. The pulverization and milling process lowered the optimum crystallization temperature of the material by because of the internal energy accumulated during the fragmentation and powder thinning processes.