Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5369252 | Applied Surface Science | 2006 | 5 Pages |
Ablation of Fe3O4 targets has been performed using a pulsed UV laser (KrF, λ = 248 nm, 30 ns pulse duration) onto Si(100) substrates, in reactive atmospheres of O2 and/or Ar, with different oxygen partial pressures. The as-deposited films were characterised by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS) and extraction magnetometry, in order to optimise the deposition conditions in the low temperature range. The results show that a background mixture of oxygen and argon improves the Fe:O ratio in the films as long as the oxygen partial pressure is maintained in the 10â2 Pa range. Thin films of almost stoichiometric single phase polycrystalline magnetite, Fe2.99O4, have been obtained at 483 K and working pressure of 7.8 Ã 10â2 Pa, with a high-field magnetization of â¼490 emu/cm3 and Verwey transition temperature of 112 K, close to the values reported in the literature for bulk magnetite.