Abstract

Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has recently emerged as a useful technique to deposit films of multi-component oxide materials. The present work is focused on the structural and magnetic properties of magnetite (Fe₃O₄) thin films deposited on single crystal substrates of SrTiO₃ (100), SrTiO₃:Nb (100), MgO (100), Al₂O₃ (0001), MgAl₂O₄ (100) and Si (100) using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm and self-prepared hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) sintered targets. The films were grown on substrates heated to 475 °C and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman and Mössbauer spectroscopies, magneto-optic Kerr effect microscopy (MOKE) and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry.

© 2013 IEEE