The preparation and ferromagnetism of single crystal ε-Fe3N(111) film on SrTiO3(100) substrate

We report the growth of single crystal hexagonal ε-Fe3N(111) film on SrTiO3(100) substrate by ablating high-purity iron target in activated nitrogen. The measurements of reflection high-energy diffraction, x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer reveal that the ε-Fe3N(111) films have well crystallization, smooth surface, and strong ferromagnetism. The root mean square roughness of the ε-Fe3N film surface is 0.25 nm. The saturation magnetization values are ∼900 and ∼1050 emu/cm3 at 300 and 10 K, respectively. The in-plane and out-of-plane coercivity forces are 550 and 675 Oe, respectively. Meanwhile, the film has obvious magnetic anisotropy.