Growth and properties of pulsed laser deposited thin films of Fe(3)O(4) on Si substrates of different orientation

J Phys Condens Matter. 2007 Apr 30;19(17):176002. doi: 10.1088/0953-8984/19/17/176002. Epub 2007 Mar 28.

Abstract

Fe(3)O(4) thin films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition on Si substrates of different orientations: (111), (100) and (110). X-ray diffraction studies revealed the spinel cubic structure of the films with preferential (111) orientation independent of the substrate orientation. Raman spectroscopy suggests the single-phase growth of Fe(3)O(4) films on these substrates, with minimum full width at half maxima being observed for the film grown on Si(111) substrate. These samples exhibit room-temperature ferromagnetism, as observed by magnetization hysteresis. The magnetization in these films saturates at a magnetic field value of approximately 0.2 T.