In house designed magnetron sputtering source: Effect of power and annealing on structural, optical and magnetic properties of NiFe2−xLuxO4 (x = 0, 0.075) thin films

An in house designed magnetron sputtering source were described, which in turn attached to a radio-frequency (RF) power supply and used to prepare the NiFe2−xLuxO4 (x = 0, 0.075) thin films. The effects of RF power during sputtering and annealing on the structural, optical and magnetic properties of NiFe2O4 and NiFe1.925Lu0.075O4 thin films were reported. Both annealing and increasing the RF power has increased the crystallinity of the thin films. Upon annealing the films, the saturation magnetization (Ms) values of NiFe2O4 films were increased and those of NiFe1.925Lu0.075O4 films were decreased. The coercive field (Hc) values were reduced upon annealing and with increasing RF power. Both Ms and Hc values of NiFe1.925Lu0.075O4 thin films were lesser than those of NiFe2O4 thin films.