Film thickness and temperature dependence of the magnetic properties of pulsed-laser-deposited Fe3O4 films on different substrates

Sangeeta Kale, S. M. Bhagat, S. E. Lofland, T. Scabarozi, S. B. Ogale, A. Orozco, S. R. Shinde, T. Venkatesan, B. Hannoyer, B. Mercey, W. Prellier

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93 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report a systematic study of <100> epitaxial films of magnetite (Fe3O4) of thickness 300-2000 Å, grown on single-crystal substrates (MgO, MgAl2O4, and SrTiO3) using pulsed laser deposition. The magnetic state was explored by measuring magnetization, conversion-electron Mössbauer spectroscopy, and ferromagnetic resonance. At 300 K, films grown on MgAl2O4 and SrTiO3 are, more or less, normal for all thicknesses. That is, the in-plane anisotropy is fourfold. The films on MgO, however, show no in-plane anisotropy if the thickness is less than ∼800 Å. In contrast to some previous claims, the present films exhibit magnetic saturation at quite modest (≤2 kOe) fields. We propose simple models to account for a variety of observations. In addition to the shape anisotropy, strains appear to play the major role in determining the variation of the magnetic behavior with thickness, substrate, and temperature.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number205413
Pages (from-to)2054131-2054139
Number of pages9
JournalPhysical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Volume64
Issue number20
StatePublished - Nov 15 2001

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics

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