Anomalous magnetic behavior of electrodeposited chromium thin films

The morphological and magnetic properties of granular Cr films electrodeposited on Cu substrates have been investigated by SQUID magnetometry and XPS measurements. The samples display surface ferromagnetism, which could be associated with the morphology of the chromium samples, which has a granular structure. Each grain is composed of metallic chromium and the grain surface is oxidized, leading to Cr2O3 or CrO · OH formation.