  Owing to their multiple applications, lithium ferrites are relevant materials
for several emerging technologies. For instance, LiFeO2 has been spotted as an
alternative cathode material in Li-ion batteries, while LiFe5O8 is the lowest
damping ferrite, holding promise in the field of spintronics. The Li-content in
lithium ferrites has been shown to greatly affect the physical properties, and
in turn, the performance of functional devices based on these materials.
Despite this, lithium content is rarely accurately quantified, as a result of
the low number of electrons in Li hindering its identification by means of
routine materials characterization methods. In the present work, magnetic
lithium ferrite powders with Li:Fe ratios of 1:1, 1:3 and 1:5 have been
synthesized, successfully obtaining phase-pure materials (LiFeO2 and LiFe5O8),
as well as a controlled mixture of both phases. The powders have been compacted
and subsequently sintered by thermal treatment (Tmax = 1100 {\deg}C) to
fabricate dense pellets which preserve the original Li:Fe ratios. Li-content on
both powders and pellets has been determined by two independent methods: (i)
Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy combined with nuclear reaction analysis
and (ii) Rietveld analysis of powder X-ray diffraction data. With good
agreement between both techniques, it has been confirmed that the Li:Fe ratios
employed in the synthesis are maintained in the sintered ceramics. The same
conclusion is drawn from spatially-resolved confocal Raman microscopy
experiments on regions of a few microns. Field emission scanning electron
microscopy has evidenced the substantial grain growth taking place during the
sintering process - mean particle sizes rise from about 600 nm in the powders
up to 3.8(6) um for dense LiFeO2 and 10(2) um for LiFe5O8 ceramics.
