Nd:YAG laser irradiation effect on the physical properties of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles.

Nanocrystalline CoFe2O4 ferrite samples have been synthesized by co precipitation method. The prepared samples were irradiated by second harmonic diode pumped Nd:YAG laser with average power 150 m W of wavelength 532 nm for 5 min at a distance of 30 cm. The prepared samples were characterized to study the different properties of samples. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals a single-phase cubic spinel structure before/after irradiation. The broadening of the peaks indicates a reduction in crystallite size with ultra-fine nature for irradiated samples. EDAX analysis shows that the predictable composition present in the samples agrees well with the nominal compositions. Nd:YAG laser irradiation shows remarkable changes on structural as well as magnetic properties. The decreasing of the coercivity for the irradiated samples suggests that laser-irradiation and roughness can be used to tune the magnetic hardness of the ferrite materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]