Ferromagnetic Microwire Composites ― From Sensors to Microwave Applications

This book is centered at the forefront of an interdisciplinary subject: multifunctional magnetic microwires and their composites and applications. After introducing general background information and progress made in this exciting field, the book describes techniques for the fabrication of magnetic microwires and their relationships to microwire structures and properties. The author places particular emphasis on the so-called giant magnetoimpedance (GMI) effect discovered in these microwires – which is the foundation for developing high-performance magnetic sensors – and presents a systematic treatment of the theoretical and experimental aspects of the GMI effect. Accordingly, the key criteria for selecting suitable magnetic microwires are defined, thus providing excellent guidance on optimizing the GMI response in existing materials, as well as developing new materials with improved GMI properties for present and future sensor device applications. This is followed by a detailed description of different types of GMI sensors and their potential applications. As a logical transition from single components to composite materials, the remaining part of the book describes how ferromagnetic microwires can be incorporated into a polymer matrix to create a new class of composite materials with a wide range of functionalities for sensor and microwave device applications. Readers are shown state-of-the-art fabrication methods; microwave tunable properties, absorption and shielding behaviors; and the metamaterial characteristics of these newly developed composites. Lastly, the author takes a critical approach to suggesting potential applications for these microwire-based composite materials so as to pinpoint the most promising perspectives, current challenges and possible solutions.

Dr. Faxiang Qin is currently a JSPS fellow at National Institute for Materials Science, Japan. He was a post-doctoral researcher in Advanced Composite Centre for Innovation and Science at the University of Bristol and Lab-STICC at Universite de Bretagne Occidentale. He received the Master of Science in nano-materials from the South China University of Technology in 2007 and Ph.D in multifunctional composites from the University of Bristol in 2010 and was nominated for the Exceptional Thesis Prize. He was a recipient of the Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme (ORSAS) and the University of Bristol Postgraduate Student Scholarship. He was also the awardee of Finistere Postdoctoral Fellowship in France and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) fellowship. His research interest lies in magnetic materials, nanomaterials, multifunctional composites and applied physics. His work has been documented in more than 50 international refereed journal papers published in prestigious journals in the field of materials and physics.

Dr. Manh-Huong Phan is FCAST Research Professor of Physics at the University of South Florida, USA. He received a Ph.D. degree in Engineering Physics in 2006 from the University of Bristol, UK, a M.S. degree in Applied Physics in 2003 from Chungbuk National University, South Korea, and a B.S. degree in Solid State Physics in 2000 from Hanoi National University, Vietnam.

Dr. Phan’s research interests span a wide range of experimental and theoretical topics in magnetic materials and nanomagnetism. He is a leading researcher in the field of functional magnetic materials and nanostructures with magnetocaloric and magnetoimpedance effects for energy-efficient magnetic refrigeration and smart sensor technologies. He has co-authored more than 140 peer-reviewed journal papers (h-index: 23), 4 review papers, and 4 book chapters. He serves Section Editor of Physics Express, Section Editor of Sciencejet, Editorial Board Member of ISRN Condensed Matter Physics, and is the Magnetic Materials Committee Member of Minerals Metals and Materials Society (TMS). He has been an active reviewer for more than 60 major physical and engineering journals, including Nature and Nature Materials, and was named “one of the most productive referees” in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics (2007). He was Research Grant Reviewer/ Physics Panel Reviewer for CRDF Global-Urals Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Joint Basic Research Competition, USA (2013), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, UK (2011), and Kentucky Science and Engineering Foundation R&D Excellence Awards, USA (2009, 2011). He delivered several invited talks and served as Session Chairs for many professional meetings including Annual Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (2008-present) and involved in organizing Nano-Bio Collaborative International Conference, USA (2012) and Donosita International Conference on Nanoscale Magnetism and Applications, Spain (2013).

Prof. Hua-Xin Peng is a full Professor of Aerospace Materials in the Advanced Composite Centre for Innovation and Science (ACCIS), Department of Aerospace Engineering, and the Deputy Director of the Bristol Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information (NSQI) at the University of Bristol, UK. His research activities follow two main streams, (i) Nanomaterials through Engineering to Applications, focusing on developing nanocomposite coatings for aeronautical applications; (ii) Multifunctional Composites and Novel Microstructures. The latter involves the development of ferromagnetic microwires enabled multifunctional composites for a range of innovative engineering applications, such as, electromagnetic interference shielding and structural health monitoring. He has a long term interest in hierarchical approach to the design of multiphase materials microstructures. He has over 100 peer reviewed journal articles to his name including two monographs in Progress in Materials Science, and has been invited to give Plenary, Keynote and Invited talks at a number of international conferences and workshops.