Enhanced magnetic performance of CoFe2O4/BaTiO3 multilayer nanostructures with a SrTiO3 ultra-thin barrier layer

Multi-functional thin films with both magnetic CoFe2O4 and piezoelectric BaTiO3 components show limitations for novel device applications due to a severe reduction in magnetic properties in nanostructures. A systematic study of this system revealed a strong correlation between the number of CoFe2O4/BaTiO3 interfaces and the observed reduction in magnetization. We elucidate a new way to address this problem by depositing four unit cells of a SrTiO3 barrier layer at each interface, preventing chemical interaction between the two layers.