Structural and magnetic properties of epitaxial SnFe2O4 thin films

Epitaxial thin films of SnFe₂O₄ are deposited on sapphire substrate by ablating the sintered SnFe₂O₄ target with a KrF excimer laser (λ = 248 nm and pulsed duration of 20 ns). X-ray diffraction study reveals that SnFe₂O₄ films are epitaxial along (222) direction. The optical bandgap of SnFe₂O₄ film is estimated using transmittance vs. wavelength data and is observed to be 2.71 eV. The presence of hysteresis loop at room temperature in magnetization vs. field plot indicates the ferromagnetic behavior of the film. It is observed that the coercive field and remnant magnetization decrease with increase in temperature.