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Title: Modification of structure and magnetic anisotropy of epitaxial CoFe₂O₄ films by hydrogen reduction

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4915504· OSTI ID:1193448
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [1];  [2];  [1]
  1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT)
  2. Univ. of Texas, Arlington, TX (United States). Dept. of Physics

Heteroepitaxial CoFe₂O₄ (CFO) thin films with different thicknesses were deposited on MgO (001) substrates. The as-deposited CFO films show a clear switching of magnetic anisotropy with increasing film thickness. The thinner films (<100 nm) show a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy due to the out-of-plane compressive strain. The thicker films exhibit an in-plane easy axis owing to the dominating shape anisotropy effect. The magnetostriction coefficient of CFO films is estimated to be λ[001] =-188 × 10⁻⁶. Metallic CoFe₂ films were obtained by annealing the as-deposited CFO films in forming gas (Ar 93% + H₂ 7%) at 450 °C. XRD shows that CoFe₂ films are textured out-of-plane and aligned in-plane, owing to lattice matching between CoFe₂ and MgO substrate. TEM results indicate that as-deposited films are continuous while the annealed films exhibit a nanopore mushroom structure. The magnetic anisotropy of CoFe₂ films is dominated by the shape effect. The results demonstrate that hydrogen reduction can be effectively used to modify microstructures and physical properties of complex metal oxide materials.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396; W911NF-11-1-0507
OSTI ID:
1193448
Report Number(s):
LA/UR-15-20894; APPLAB
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 106, Issue 11; ISSN 0003-6951
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 8 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (2)

Metal Oxide Nanocomposites: A Perspective from Strain, Defect, and Interface journal October 2018
Phase-transition-induced large magnetic anisotropy change in VO 2 /(Co/Pt) 2 heterostructure journal January 2019