Nanocrystalline Ni0.8Zn0.2Fe2O4 films prepared by spray deposition from polyol-mediated sol: Microstructural and magnetic characterization

Nanocrystalline films were directly prepared by spray deposition of a preformed polyol-based Ni_0.8Zn_0.2Fe₂O₄ sol on a moderately heated glass substrate. The microstructural and magnetic properties of these films are investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and magnetic measurements on a Super Quanducting Interference Devices magnetometer. They are compared with those of nanoparticles precipitated from the sol, and with those of film subsequently annealed in air at 400 °C. The films and the powder exhibit superparamagnetic behaviour with a blocking temperature which increases from the powder to the as-produced film to the annealed film, in agreement with increasing stress and/or crystal size. They are ferrimagnetic at low temperature with a hysteresis feature strongly dependent on the synthesis conditions. The stresses induced in the film upon deposition undoubtedly correlate with a large grain boundaries volume which contributes to the H_c, the coercitive field, increase and M_sat, the saturation magnetization, decrease.     

Effect of external magnetic field on the deposition of BaFe12O19

The contribution of an external magnetic field on the deposition of BaFe₁₂O₁₉ thin film was investigated. For this purpose, two (one with applied field and another without field) thin films of BaFe₁₂O₁₉ were deposited on the C-plane oriented sapphire (Al₂O₃) substrate employing pulsed laser deposition technique. Crystallographic orientation and texture were determined using an X-ray diffractometer. The magnetic parameters were deduced from a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). A spectrometer was used to study the optical properties of the films. The structural results reveal the film to be predominantly single phase with C-plane orientation in both the cases. The film deposited with field, however, has bigger grain size and more perfection in crystallinity. The magnetic parameters show that the film deposited with the field has more remanence magnetization and higher coercive field. The diffuse reflectance of the film deposited with field is much higher due to the increased grain size and roughness.     

Magnetic properties and microstructure of TbCo/(SiNx/Co)n films

The Tb₃₂Co₆₈/(SiN_x/Co)_n films (n = 0 – 3) were prepared by magnetron sputtering. The magnetic anisotropy of all Tb₃₂Co₆₈/(SiN_x/Co)_n films are perpendicular to the film plane. It is found that the saturation magnetization (M_s) and perpendicular coercivity (H_c⊥) of the Tb₃₂Co₆₈/(SiN_x/Co)₃ film are 263 emu/cm³ and 3592 Oe, respectively. This film appears to be a promising material as a heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) medium. The cross-sectional high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) images show that the interface roughness between the (SiN_x/Co)_n layers and TbCo layer increases as n is increased. The rough surface provides more obstacles and pinning sites that hinder the motion of the domain walls at interface between the (SiN_x/Co)_n layers and TbCo layer. Therefore, the H_c⊥ values are profoundly influenced by the interface roughness.     

Investigation of antiperovskite Mn3CuNx film prepared by DC reactive magnetron sputtering

Antiperovskite Mn₃CuN_x film was prepared by dc reactive magnetron sputtering. It is the first time to report an antiperovskite ternary nitride film. The composition and crystal structure were characterized by energy dispersive spectroscope (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). From the XRD pattern, it displays a (1 0 0) preferential orientation. A comparative study on the properties of Mn₃CuN_x film and the bulk sample was presented. The film exhibits an antiferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition around 135 K, similar with the bulk sample. With temperature, the resistivity of the film shows semiconductor-like behavior throughout the measured temperature region, whereas there is an abrupt drop around the magnetic transition for the bulk. The variable temperature XRD results indicate that the film did not display any structure transition and shows a normal linear thermal expansion property around the magnetic transition.     

High perpendicular hard magnetic properties of nanocomposite Co-rich Co-Pt/Pt double-layered films by epitaxial deposition without capped layer

The HRTEM cross-sectional lattice image shows that a well epitaxial growth of hcp Co-rich Co-Pt (002) on Pt (111) underlayer leads to good perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of Co-rich Co-Pt film. It is found that both the perpendicular coercivity (Hc_⊥) and perpendicular squareness (S_⊥) of Co-rich Co-Pt films without Pt capped layer are larger than that of Co-rich Co-Pt films with Pt capped layer. The cross-sectional TEM-EDS and AES analysis confirm that the oxygen atoms will diffuse from film surface into the Co-rich Co-Pt film without adding Pt capped layer, and it react with cobalt atoms to form CoO, which is detected by XPS analysis. The increase in perpendicular hard magnetic properties of Co-rich Co-Pt film without Pt capped layer is mainly due to form CoO in the Co-rich Co-Pt film.     

Microwave characterization of laser ablated Y1Ba2Cu3O7−x thin films

In the present study we report the measurements of microwave surface resistance (R_s) of YBCO thin films on LaAlO₃ substrate as a function of temperature, thickness and magnetic field by microstrip resonator technique. The T_c(R = 0) of the films is 90 K and J_c > 10⁶ A/cm² at 77 K. The microwave surface resistance has been measured for films of various thicknesses. The value of R_s has been found to be initially decreased with increasing film thickness due to increase in number of defects. A minimum microwave surface resistance has been obtained for film thickness of about 300 nm. The increase of R_s with film thickness above 300 nm is possibly due to degradation of the film microstructure as observed with Atomic Force Microscopy. Temperature dependence of surface resistance has been studied for best quality films. The field induced variations of surface resistance are also investigated by applying dc magnetic field perpendicular to stripline structure and surface of the film. A general linear and square field dependence of R_s at low and high value of fields has been observed with critical field value of 0.4 T which confirms the microwave dissipation induced by flux flow in these resonators at 10 GHz frequency. The hysteresis of R_s in dc field observed for field value above critical field shows the higher value of surface resistance in decreasing field than in increasing field which is in agreement with one state critical model and is a characteristic of homogeneous superconductors.     

Synthesis and characterization of Ca3Co4O9 thin films prepared by sol-gel spin-coating technique on Al2O3(001)

Ca₃Co₄O₉ thin films are deposited on Al₂O₃(001) substrates using a sol-gel spin-coating process. X-ray diffraction shows that the film exhibits a single phase of Ca₃Co₄O₉ with the (00l) planes parallel to the film surface. The temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility showed as expected the existence of two magnetic transitions similar to those observed in bulk samples: a ferrimagnetic and a spin-state transition around 19 and 375 K, respectively. At 5 K the magnetization curves along the c-axis of the Al₂O₃(001) show that the remanent magnetization and coercive field are close to those obtained for films grown by pulsed laser deposition, which evidences the interest to use such an easy technique to grow complex thin films oxides.     

Colossal magnetocapacitance effect in BiFeO3/La5/8Ca3/8MnO3 epitaxial films

A colossal magnetocapacitance in magnetic fields was observed near the Curie temperature T_c = 220 K of La_5/8Ca_3/8MnO₃ for the BiFeO₃/La_5/8Ca_3/8MnO₃ epitaxial film. It was found that the magnetocapacitance increases with increasing magnetic fields and reaches a maximum up to 1100% enhancement around T_c at 10 T. From the analysis of the dielectric relaxation, one can see that the behavior of relaxation time τ above T_c differs from that below T_c, and the value of τ decreases with increasing magnetic fields. This colossal magnetocapacitance effect near room temperature in BiFeO₃/La_5/8Ca_3/8MnO₃ may have potential applications in multifunctional microelectronic device.     

Preparation and magnetic properties of SrFeO3−x (x = 0.25 ∼ 0.5) using RF magnetron sputtering optimized through sputtering plasma analysis

We investigated the preparation and the magnetic properties of SrFeO_3−x using conventional RF magnetron sputtering. Photoluminescence spectrum analyses of the sputtering plasma revealed that the film composition was changed even using the stoichiometry target. After fixing the composition of the targets from an intensity ratio of the Sr and Fe plasma, the polycrystalline SrFeO_3−x films with different oxygen deficiencies were able to prepare using the various sputtering gas ratio. The magnetic properties of the samples were also changed with changing the sputtering gas ratio. This magnetic property change was likely due to the suppression of the oxygen deficiency in the film.     

Film thickness dependence of microstructures and magnetic properties in single-layered FePt films by in-situ annealing

The FePt films with various thicknesses (t) of 5 to 50 nm are deposited on Si(100) substrate without any underlayer by in-situ annealing at substrate temperature (Ts) of 620 °C. A strong (001) texture of L1₀ FePt film is obtained and presents high perpendicular magnetic anisotropy as the film thickness increases to 30 nm. By further increasing the thickness to exceed 30 nm, the (111) orientation of L1₀ FePt is enhanced greatly, indicating that the quality of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy degrades when the thickness of the FePt film is greater than 30 nm. The single-layered FePt film with thickness of 30 nm by in-situ depositing at 620 °C shows good perpendicular magnetic properties (perpendicular coercivity of 1033 kA/m (13 kOe), saturation magnetization of 1.08 webers/m² and perpendicular squareness of 0.91, respectively), which reveal its significant potential for perpendicular magnetic recording media.     

Sputter-epitaxy and electric properties of multiferroic Bim + 1Fem-3Ti3O3m + 3 thin films

Growth conditions suitable for sputter-epitaxy of Bi_m + 1Fe_m-3Ti₃O_3m + 3 (BFTO) thin films with layered structure have been investigated. The amount of oxygen during deposition was found to be specifically essential for obtaining a good-quality thin film of BFTO with a large m. The (001) epitaxial thin films of BFTO with m of nearly 10 which is expected to retain magnetic order up to room temperature have been successfully grown on (001) SrTiO₃ substrates under the determined optimum condition. The film exhibited leakage current as low as order of 10⁻²-10⁻¹ A/m² limited by Schottky emission at the interfaces between the electrodes and the film. In addition, the film showed a ferroelectric polarization curve with Pr = 6 μC/cm² for applied field of 35 MV/m at room temperature though the curve was unsaturated. These indicate that the BFTO (m = 10) thin films are promising as multiferroics at room temperature.     

Enhancement of saturation magnetization in epitaxial (111) BiFeO3 films by magnetic annealing

We report the enhancement of the saturation magnetization in BiFeO₃ films achieved by magnetic annealing. The saturation magnetization of the film annealed in a magnetic field is found to be 80 emu/cc, which is an increase nearly by a factor of 10 compared to the as-grown one. From the investigation of optical second harmonic generation (SHG), we observe the presence of s_out-polarization under s_in-polarization in the film annealed in a magnetic field, which implies that the spin state is homogeneous antiferromagnetic one rather than cycloidal one. We interpret the observed large enhancement in the saturation magnetization to be due to the magnetic phase transition from cycloidal to homogenous antiferromagnetic one.     

Characteristics of NixFe100−x films deposited on SiO2/Si(1 0 0) by DC magnetron co-sputtering

Ni_xFe_100−x films with a thickness of about 200 nm were deposited on SiO₂/Si(1 0 0) substrates at room temperature by DC magnetron co-sputtering using both Fe and Ni₈₀Fe₂₀ targets. Compositional, structural, electrical and magnetic properties of the films were investigated. Ni₇₆Fe₂₄, Ni₆₅Fe₃₅, Ni₆₀Fe₄₀, Ni₅₅Fe₄₅, Ni₄₉Fe₅₁ films are obtained by increasing the sputtering power of the Fe target. All the films have a fcc structure. Ni₇₆Fe₂₄, Ni₆₅Fe₃₅, Ni₆₀Fe₄₀ and Ni₅₅Fe₄₅ films grow with crystalline orientations of [1 1 1] and [2 2 0] in the direction of the film growth while the Ni₄₉Fe₅₁ film has the [1 1 1] texture structure in the direction of the film growth. The lattice constant of the film increases linearly with increasing Fe content. All of the films grow with thin columnar grains and have void networks in the grain boundaries. The grain size does not change markedly with the composition of the film. The resistivity of the film increases with increasing Fe content and is one order of magnitude larger than that of the bulk. For all the films the magnetic hysteresis loop shows a hard magnetization. The Ni₇₆Fe₂₄ film has the lowest saturation magnetization of 6.75×10⁻² T and the lowest saturation field of 8.36×10⁴ A/m while the Ni₄₉Fe₅₁ film has a largest saturation magnetization of 9.25×10⁻² T and the largest saturation field of 1.43×10⁵ A/m.     

Time resolved nanosecond vortex dynamics in high Tc superconducting films

Flux dynamics in a high T_c superconducting thin film is investigated in the ns time scale. The initial metastable state is determined by applying a pulsed magnetic field to a sample previous cooled below the irreversibility line. Selective local heating of the film with a pulsed laser spot lowers the vortex pinning force suddenly. The magnetic flux rearrangements that follow generate a voltage pulse between two contacts on the zero current biased sample. Detail simulations were performed in the framework of a phenomenological model based on Maxwell Equations with constitutive relations for creep and flux flow that fully describe the observed voltage signals.     

Multiferroic properties of BiFeO3/Bi4Ti3O12 double-layered thin films fabricated by chemical solution deposition

Multiferroic BiFeO₃/Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ (BFO/BTO) double-layered film was fabricated on a Pt(111)/Ti/SiO₂/Si(100) substrate by a chemical solution deposition method. The effect of an interfacial BTO layer on electrical and magnetic properties of BFO was investigated by comparing those of pure BFO and BTO films prepared by the same condition. The X-ray diffraction result showed that no additional phase was formed in the double-layered film, except BFO and BTO phases. The remnant polarization (2P_r) of the double-layered film capacitor was 100 μC/cm² at 250 kV/cm, which is much larger than that of the pure BFO film capacitor. The magnetization-magnetic field hysteresis loop revealed weak ferromagnetic response with remnant magnetization (2M_r) of 0.4 kA/m. The values of dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the double-layered film capacitor were 240 and 0.03 at 100 kHz, respectively. Leakage current density measured from the double-layered film capacitor was 6.1 × 10^− 7 A/cm² at 50 kV/cm, which is lower than the pure BFO and BTO film capacitors.     

Dielectric tunability and magnetoelectric coupling in LuFe2O4 epitaxial thin film deposited by pulsed-laser deposition

C-axis orientated LuFe₂O₄ thin films on (001) sapphire substrates are epitaxially deposited by pulsed-laser deposition. Temperature-dependent resistance characterization reveals the ferrimagnetic transition at 237 K and charge-ordering transition at 340 K in the film. Importantly, the dielectric constant of the film can be significantly changed by both electric and magnetic fields. The dielectric tunability reaches 35% when an electric field of 5 V is applied, while this value reduces to 20% and 15%, respectively, when a magnetic field of 0.83 T is applied perpendicular and parallel to the film normal direction. This suggests a magnetically controlled dielectric tunability and strong magnetoelectric coupling, and is therefore promising for tunable device applications in film form.     

Influence of underlayers on the c-axis distribution in Co80Pt20 thin films

A series of approximately 40 nm thick Co₈₀Pt₂₀ thin films have been sputter-deposited onto a combination of Ta, Pt and Ru underlayers grown at different layer thicknesses. The addition of a Ta seed layer to the Pt and Ru underlayers caused the {0002} hexagonal close packed (hcp) Co₈₀Pt₂₀'s c-axis dispersion's full width at half maximum to narrow from approximately 12° to approximately 2°. In-situ stress measurements taken during deposition showed that the Ta seed layer reduced the growth stresses for the Pt and an initial 1 nm of growth for the Ru underlayers. The Ru layer thickness controlled the c/a ratio of the hcp Co₈₀Pt₂₀ film which regulated the degree of magnetic easy-axis alignment in the Co₈₀Pt₂₀ film. The optimal underlayer material stack for Co₈₀Pt₂₀ with a narrow c-axis dispersion and a high degree of magnetic easy-axis alignment was 5 nm Ta/10 nm Pt/5 nm Ru.     

Stress-induced anisotropy in LPE grown Ni(Fe,Al)2O4 films

Preliminary results are reported about the growth of single crystal Ni(Fe,Al)₂O₄ films, grown by means of liquid phase epitaxy on (111)MgO and on (111)ZnGa₂O₄ substrates using a PbO-B₂O₃-Fe₂O₃ solvent. While films grown upon MgO show stress relief at the growth temperature, films grown upon ZnGa₂O₄ possess a tensile strain due to elastic deformation. Since λ₁₁₁ for NiFe₂O₄ is strongly negative a stress-induced uniaxial anisotropy is present in the films. Stripe domains can be observed with the Bitter technique and when a magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the plane of the film, magnetic bubbles with a diameter of ～2 μm appear. A bubble stability factor q exceeding unity is obtained. For the first time magnetic bubbles are found in LPE grown spinel ferrites.     

Control of properties during the growth of a large number of (Y,Sm)3(Ga,Fe)5O12 films from the same melt

For the growth of a large number of (Y, Sm)₃(Ga, Fe)₅O₁₂ films from the same melt, we describe the drift and methods to control the drift in film properties, so that the films are suitable for making magnetic bubble memory devices. The melt was based on PbO-B₂O₃ flux. The film thickness h and the characteristic length l were kept at around 5.4 μm and 0.54 μm respectively. The desired h was achieved by adjusting the growth time. The desired values for l were achieved by adjusting the growth temperature and by periodically adding small amounts of Ga₂O₃. The lattice constant was kept within the specified limits by periodic additions of Y₂O₃. Using these techniques we were able to grow more than a hundred films, out of which ～ 85% were acceptable for device fabrication. Based on the deduced values for the composition of our films, we have calculated the melt depletion resulting from the growth of a single film. We find that the experimentally determined additions of Ga₂O₃ and Y₂O₃ that gave us good control over film properties are almost equal to the calculated depletions for these two oxides.     

Studying the mechanism of exchange coupling in ferro/ferrimagnet NiFe/DyCo film structures

Dependence of the magnetic and magnetooptical properties of an exchange-coupled NiFe/DyCo bilayer system on the thickness (t _DyCo) of a magnetically hard layer has been studied. It is established that the unidirectional anisotropy vanishes at t _DyCo ～ 400 Å, while the coercive field in the magnetically soft layer becomes comparable to the exchange-induced field shift. In this case, the DyCo layer magnetization is almost parallel to the film plane, whereas a reference DyCo film exhibits a perpendicular anisotropy. A model of the magnetic state of layers in the ferro/ferrimagnetic layer structure under consideration is proposed, which assumes that a 180° domain wall is formed at the interface upon magnetization reversal in the magnetically soft layer.