Ferroelectric properties of bilayer structured Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/SrBi2Ta2O9 (PZT/SBT) thin films on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates

Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃ (PZT) thin films with large remanent polarization and SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ (SBT) thin films with excellent fatigue-resisting characteristic have been widely studied for non-volatile random access memories, respectively. To combine these two advantages_, bilayered Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃/SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ (PZT/SBT) thin films were fabricated on Pt/TiO₂/SiO₂/Si substrates by chemical solution deposition method. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the diffraction peaks of PZT/SBT thin films were completely composed of PZT and SBT, and no other secondary phase was observed. The electrical properties of the bilayered structure PZT/SBT films have been investigated in comparison with pure PZT and SBT films. PZT/SBT bilayered thin films showed larger remanent polarization (2P_r) of 18.37 μC/cm² than pure SBT and less polarization fatigue up to 1 × 10⁹ switching cycles than pure PZT. These results indicated that this bilayered structure of PZT/SBT is a promising material combination for ferroelectric memory applications.     

Preparation and characterization of ferroelectric SrBi2Ta2O9 thin films on Si using Al2O3 buffer layers

SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ (SBT) thin films were prepared on p-type Si(100) substrates with Al₂O₃ buffer layers. Both the SBT films and the Al₂O₃ buffer layers were deposited by a pulsed laser deposition technique using a KrF excimer laser. An Al prelayer was used to prevent Si surface oxidization in the initial growth stage. It is shown that Al₂O₃ buffer layers effectively prevented interdiffusion between SBT and Si substrates. Furthermore, the capacitance–voltage (C-V) characteristics of the SBT/Al₂O₃/Si heterostructures show a hysteresis loop with a clockwise trace, demonstrating the ferroelectric switching properties of SBT films and showing a memory window of 1.6 V at 1 MHz. Received: 17 July 2000 / Accepted: 16 August 2000 / Published online: 30 November 2000     

2-2型磁电复合薄膜CoFe2O4/Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3静磁耦合

运用溶胶-凝胶法在Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si基片上旋涂制备了2-2型CoFe₂O₄/Pb(Zr_0.53Ti_0.47)O₃磁电复合薄膜．制备的磁电薄膜结构为基片/PZT/CFO/PZT*/CFO/PZT,通过改变中间层PZT*溶胶的浓度,改变磁性层间距以及静磁耦合的大小．SEM结果表明,复合薄膜结构致密,呈现出界面清晰平整的多层结构．制备的复合薄膜具有较好的铁电与铁磁性能．实验还研究了静磁耦合对薄膜磁电性能的影响,结果表明,随着复合薄膜磁性层间距的减小,静磁耦合效应的增加,磁电电压系数有逐渐增大的趋势.     

Electrical and magnetic properties of CoFeAlO thin films

Influences of oxygen-partial pressure and annealing on the electrical and magnetic properties of CoFeAlO thin films were systematically investigated by means of resistivity, permeability, magnetization and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurements. It was found that, with increasing oxygen-partial pressure or under annealing, the electrical resistivity of the film increased and the magnetic softness decreased, which is attributed to the microstructural change of the film. Interestingly, an as-deposited Co_45.30Fe_20.65Al_19.34O_14.71 film was found to exhibit an inverted hysteresis loop with negative coercivity, and this peculiar phenomenon disappeared upon effects of oxygen-partial pressure and annealing. It was also found that the as-deposited films owned a narrow FMR line width that increased with increasing oxygen-partial pressure or under annealing.     

The structural and electric behavior of SrBi2Ta2O9 ferroelectric thin films with H+ implantation

The structural and electrical characteristics of H⁺-implanted SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ (SBT) ferroelectric thin films were investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis and electrical measurements. 25 keV H⁺ with doses ranging from 1 × 10¹⁴/cm² to 3 × 10¹⁵/cm² were implanted into the Sol-Gel prepared SBT ferroelectric thin films. The X-ray diffraction patterns of SBT films show that no difference appears in the crystalline structure of H⁺-implanted SBT films compared with unimplanted films. Ferroelectric properties measurements indicate that both remnant polarization and the coercive electric field of H⁺-implanted SBT films decrease with increasing the implantation dose. The disappearance of ferroelectricity was found in the H⁺-implanted SBT films up to a dose of 3 × 10¹⁵/cm². The leakage current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics of the H⁺-implanted SBT films were also discussed before and after a recovery process.     

Perpendicularly oriented barium ferrite thin films with low microwave loss,prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Barium ferrite(Ba M) thin films are deposited on platinum coated silicon wafers by pulsed laser deposition(PLD).The effects of deposition substrate temperature on the microstructure,magnetic and microwave properties of Ba M thin films are investigated in detail.It is found that microstructure,magnetic and microwave properties of Ba M thin film are very sensitive to deposition substrate temperature,and excellent Ba M thin film is obtained when deposition temperature is 910℃ and oxygen pressure is 300 m Torr(1 Torr = 1.3332×10~2Pa).X-ray diffraction patterns and atomic force microscopy images show that the best thin film has perpendicular orientation and hexagonal morphology,and the crystallographic alignment degree can be calculated to be 0.94.Hysteresis loops reveal that the squareness ratio(M_r/M_s) is as high as 0.93,the saturated magnetization is 4004 Gs(1 Gs = 10~4T),and the anisotropy field is 16.5 kOe(1 Oe = 79.5775 A·m~(-1)).Ferromagnetic resonance measurements reveal that the gyromagnetic ratio is 2.8 GHz/kOe,and the ferromagnetic resonance linewith is108 Oe at 50 GHz,which means that this thin film has low microwave loss.These properties make the Ba M thin films have potential applications in microwave devices.     

Surface characteristics and nanoindentation study of Ni-Mn-Ga ferromagnetic shape memory sputtered thin films

In present paper, the off-stoichiometric Ni-Mn-Ga ferromagnetic shape memory alloy thin films are fabricated using radio frequency magnetron sputtering method. The compositions, microstructures and mechanical properties of the thin films are characterized by energy dispersive X-ray spectrum (EDAX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electronic microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM) and nanoindentation test, respectively. The results show that there is a thinner layer of oxides consisting of NiO, Ga₂O₃ and an unspecified manganese oxidation (Mn_xO_y) at the surface, whereas a small amount of MnO precipitates exist in internal layers of post-annealed Ni-Mn-Ga thin films. The hardness and elastic modulus decrease with increasing film thickness. Nanoindentation tests reveal that the hardness and elastic modulus of the films can be up to 5.5 and 155 GPa, respectively. The Ni-Mn-Ga thin films have remarkably improved the ductility of Ni-Mn-Ga ferromagnetic shape memory alloys bulk materials.     

Electron spin resonance properties of semiconductor/granular film heterostructures with cobalt nanoparticles in millimeter waveband

Ferromagnetic resonance spectra (FMR) on heterostructures of amorphous silicon dioxide films containing cobalt nanoparticles, (SiO₂)_100−xCo_x, grown on GaAs and Si substrates have been investigated over a frequency range of 37–41 GHz at room temperature. The FMR linewidth and saturation magnetization dependencies on the cobalt concentration have been analyzed. The impact of the semiconductor type on the FMR linewidth ΔH and a sharp increase in ΔH with a decreasing concentration of cobalt nanoparticles have been noted. The effect of considerable FMR linewidth broadening has been accounted for by the spin-polarized relaxation mechanism.     

Ferromagnetic resonance and torsion magnetometry in oligatomic NiFe-films

Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) and torsion magnetometry were carried out on 60 Ni/40 Fe (111) oligatomic thin films (2.4≦D _M≦9.4 atomic layers) at temperatures between 123 K and 373 K. A comparative discussion of the results is given. Anisotropies of the films, determined by both methods, agree roughly. Approximately, they show a 1/D _M-dependence on the film thickness, as expected from an interpretation as surface anisotropy. FMR is shown to be a useful experimental tool for the investigation of oligatomic ferromagnetic films. Informations may be taken from the resonance field, line width, line shape and total absorbed microwave power. The magnetic moment must be taken from magnetometry.     

Texture control and its impact on the properties of SrBi2Ta2O9 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ (SBT) ferroelectric thin films with different preferred orientations were deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Several methods have been developed to control the preferred orientation of SBT thin films. For SBT films deposited directly on Pt/TiO₂/SiO₂/Si substrates and in situ crystallized at the deposition temperature, the substrate temperature has a significant impact on the orientation and the remnant polarization (Pr) of the films; a higher substrate temperature benefits the formation of (115) texture and larger grain size. The films deposited on Pt/TiO₂/SiO₂/Si substrates at 830 °C are (115)-oriented and exhibit 2Pr of 6 μC/cm². (115)- and (200)-predominant films can be formed by using a La_0.85Sr_0.15CoO₃ (LSCO) buffer layer or by annealing amorphous SBT films deposited on Pt/TiO₂/SiO₂/Si substrates at 450 °C using rapid thermal annealing (RTA). These films exhibit good electric properties; 2Pr of the films are up to 12 μC/cm² and 17 μC/cm², respectively. The much larger 2Pr of the films deposited on the LSCO buffer layer and of the films obtained by RTA than 2Pr of the films deposited on Pt/TiO₂/SiO₂/Si substrates at 830 °C is attributed to a stronger (200) texture. Received: 30 January 2001 / Accepted: 30 May 2001 / Published online: 25 July 2001     

The microwave magnetism of epitaxy LiFe5O8 thin film modulated by thickness

Spinel lithium ferrite LiFe₅O₈ (LFO) has attracted robust research interests due to their potential applications in isolators, circulators, and phase shifters. In this work, a series of LFO thin film with various thickness were fabricated on SrTiO₃ (STO) single-crystalline substrates by pulsed laser deposition technology. We systematically investigated the influences of the thickness of LFO thin film on the crystal structure and magnetic properties. The in-plane lattice parameter a and in-plane lattice parameter c were modulated by controlling the thickness of LFO thin film, which was confirmed using reciprocal space mappings (RSMs) technology. Furthermore, the microwave magnetism of LFO thin film with various thickness were studied systematically by ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurement. Moreover, with increasing the thickness of LFO thin film from 50 to 180 nm, the difference of the ferromagnetic resonance field between easy- and hard-magnetization axis can be enhanced and reach to 330 Oe. These results illustrate that dynamic magnetic properties can be controlled by tuning the thickness of LFO thin film. Our work provides an effective method to tailor the lattice parameter and modify the magnetic properties of the LFO thin film and contributes to further design high-frequency functional device.     

SrBi2Ta2O9 ferroelectric thin film capacitors: degradation in a hydrogen ambient

The effects of annealing in forming gas 5% hydrogen, 95% nitrogen; FGA) are studied on spin-coated SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ (SBT) thin films. SBT films on a platinum bottom electrode are characterized with and without a platinum top electrode. Films are characterized by residual stress measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), high-temperature X-ray diffraction (HT-XRD) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). To determine the degree of strain, lattice constants of Pt are measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD). HT-XRD of blanket SBT/Pt/Ti films in forming gas revealed that the bismuth-layered perovskite structure of SBT is stable up to approximately 500 °C. After formation of an intermediate phase between 550 °C and 700 °C, SBT changes its structure to an amorphous phase. SIMS analysis of Pt/SBT/Pt samples annealed in deuterated forming gas (5% D₂, 95% N₂) showed that hydrogen accumulates in the SBT layer and at the platinum interfaces next to the SBT. After FGA of blanket SBT films, tall platinum–bismuth whiskers are seen on the SBT surface. It is confirmed that these whiskers originate from the platinum bottom electrode and grow through the SBT layer. FGA of the entire Pt/SBT/Pt/Ti stack shows two different results. For the samples with a high-temperature annealing (HTA) step in oxygen after top electrode patterning, peeling of the top electrode is observed after FGA. For the samples without a HTA step, no peeling is observed after FGA. The residual stress at room temperature is measured for blanket platinum wafers deposited at different temperatures. It is found that an increase in tensile stress caused by the HTA step in oxygen is followed by a decrease in stress caused by the hydrogen in the forming gas. Without HTA, however, an increase of stress is observed after FGA. PACS 77.84.-s; 81.40.-z; 77.55.+f     

Ferromagnetism in epitaxial layers of gallium and indium antimonides and indium arsenide supersaturated by manganese impurity

We report on laser synthesis of thin 30–200 nm epitaxial layers with mosaic structure of diluted magnetic semiconductors GaSb:Mn and InSb:Mn with the Curie temperature T_C above 500 K and of InAs:Mn with T_C no less than 77 K. The concentration of Mn was ranged from 0.02 to 0.15. In the case of InSb:Mn and InAs:Mn films, the additional pulse laser annealing was needed to achieve ferromagnetic behavior. We used Kerr and Hall effects methods as well as ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectroscopy to study magnetic properties of the samples. The anisotropy FMR was observed for both layers of GaSb:Mn and InSb:Mn up to 500 K but it takes place with different temperature dependencies of absorption spectra peaks. The resonance field value and amplitude of FMR signal on the temperature is monotonically decreased with the temperature increase for InSb:Mn. In the case of GaSb:Mn, this dependence is not monotonic.     

FMR studies in the TbFeCo/GdFeCoSi bilayers

Bilayers, TbFeCo/GdFeCoSi, made by sputtering on glass substrate with buffer and capping layers were studied by measuring the hysteresis loop and by ferromagnetic resonance (FMR). When the field H was applied along the film normal, a double H_C hysteresis loop related to the two sublayers was observed. In ferromagnetic resonance measurements, a peculiar out-of-plane angular dependence of FMR spectrum was obtained. When scanning field H was 0-637 kA/m less than the anisotropy field of TbFeCo sublayer, two FMR peaks were observed. One peak was characteristic of uniaxial and unidirectional anisotropy. The anisotropy constants were obtained by fitting the data with the theory of FMR, and this peak was considered to be related to the low anisotropy GdFeCoSi layer. The second peak appeared only when the dc field H was orientated in a limited angular range around 180°. This peak was considered to be related to an uncoupled interfacial GdFeCoSi sublayer near Al capping layer. However, when H was scanned between 0-1114 kA/m, only one peak is observed due to magnetization reversal of TbFeCo layer with uniaxial anisotropy.     

Ferromagnetism in carbon-doped In2O3 thin films

Carbon-doped In₂O₃ thin films exhibiting ferromagnetism at room temperature were prepared on Si (100) substrates by the rf-magnetron co-sputtering technique. The effects of carbon concentration as well as oxygen atmosphere on the ferromagnetic property of the thin films were investigated. The saturated magnetizations of thin films varied from 1.23 to 4.86 emu/cm³ with different carbon concentrations. The ferromagnetic signal was found stronger in samples with higher oxygen vacancy concentrations. In addition, deposition temperature and different types of substrates also affect the ferromagnetic properties of carbon-doped In₂O₃ thin films. This may be related to the oxygen vacancies in the thin film system. The experiment suggests that oxygen vacancies play an important role in introducing ferromagnetism in thin films.     

High-frequency permeability of electroplated CoNiFe and CoNiFe–C alloys

We have investigated CoNiFe and CoNiFe–C electrodeposited by pulse reverse plating (PRP) and direct current (DC) techniques. CoNiFe(PRP) films with composition Co_59.4Fe_27.7Ni_12.8 show coercivity of 95 A m⁻¹ (1.2 Oe) and magnetization saturation flux (μ₀M_s) of 1.8 T. Resistivity of CoNiFe (PRP) is about 24 μΩ cm and permeability remains almost constant μ_r′ ∼475 up to 30 MHz with a quality factor (Q) larger than 10. Additionally, the permeability spectra analysis shows that CoNiFe exhibits a classical eddy current loss at zero bias field and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) when biased with 0.05 T. Furthermore, a crossover between eddy current and FMR loss is observed for CoNiFe-PRP when baised with 0.05 T. DC and PRP plated CoNiFe–C, which have resistivity and permeability of 85, 38 μΩ cm, μ_r′=165 and 35 with Q>10 up to 320 MHz, respectively, showed only ferromagnetic resonance losses. The ferromagnetic resonance peaks in CoNiFe and CoNiFe–C are broad and resembles a Gaussian distribution of FMR frequencies. The incorporation of C to CoNiFe reduces eddy current loss, but also reduces the FMR frequency.     

Effect of bilayer structure and a SrRuO3 buffer layer on ferroelectric properties of BiFeO3 thin films

Effects of the BiFe_0.95Mn_0.05O₃ thickness and a SrRuO₃ (SRO) buffer layer on the microstructure and electrical properties of BiFeO₃/BiFe_0.95Mn_0.05O₃ (BFO/BFMO) bilayered thin films were investigated, where BFO/BFMO bilayered thin films were fabricated on the SRO/Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si(100) substrate by a radio frequency sputtering. All thin films are of a pure perovskite structure with a mixture of (110) and (111) orientations regardless of the BFMO layer thickness. Dense microstructure is demonstrated in all thin films because of the introduction of BFMO layers. The SRO buffer layer can also further improve the ferroelectric properties of BFO/BFMO bilayered thin films as compared with those of these thin films without a SRO buffer layer. The BFO/BFMO bilayered thin film with a thickness ratio of 220/120 has an enhanced ferroelectric behavior of 2P _r??165.23???C/cm² and 2E _c??518.56?kV/cm, together with a good fatigue endurance. Therefore, it is an effective way to enhance the ferroelectric and fatigue properties of bismuth ferrite thin films by constructing such a bilayered structure and using a SRO buffer layer.     

Dopant Spin States and Magnetic Interactions in Transition Metal (Fe3+)-Doped Semiconductor Nanoparticles: An EMR and Magnetometric Study

In this work, electron magnetic resonance (EMR) spectroscopy and magnetometry studies were employed to investigate the origin of the observed room-temperature ferromagnetism in chemically synthesized Sn_1?x Fe _x O₂ powders. EMR data clearly established the presence of two different types of signals due to the incorporated Fe ions: paramagnetic spectra due to isolated Fe³⁺ ions and broad ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectra due to magnetically coupled Fe³⁺ dopant ions. EMR data analysis and simulation suggested the presence of high-spin (S = 5/2) Fe³⁺ ions incorporated into the SnO₂ host lattice both at substitutional and at interstitial sites. The FMR signal intensity and the saturation magnetization M _s of the ferromagnetic component increased with increasing Fe concentration. For Sn_0.953Fe_0.047O₂ samples, well-defined EMR spectra revealing FMRs were observed only for samples prepared in the 350–600°C range, whereas for samples prepared at higher annealing temperatures up to 900°C, the FMRs and saturation magnetization were vanished due to diffusion and eventual expulsion of the Fe ions from the nanoparticles, in agreement with data obtained from Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.     

Magnetic properties of the novel nanocomposite (Zn0.15Ni0.85Fe2O4)0.15/(SiO2)0.85 at room temperature

The value of the effective magnetic anisotropy constant of the ferrimagnetic nanoparticles Zn_0.15Ni_0.85Fe₂O₄ embedded in a SiO₂ silica matrix, determined through ferromagnetic resonance (FMR), is much higher than the magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant. The higher value of the anisotropy constant is due to the existence of surface anisotropy. However, even if the magnetic anisotropy is high, the ferrimagnetic nanoparticles with a 15% concentration, which are isolated in a SiO₂ matrix, display a superparamagnetic (SPM) behavior at room temperature and at a frequency of the magnetization field equal to 50 Hz. The FMR spectrum of the novel nanocomposite (Zn_0.15Ni_0.85Fe₂O₄)_0.15/(SiO₂)_0.85, recorded at room temperature and a frequency of 9.060 GHz, is observed at a resonance field (B_0r) of 0.2285 T, which is substantially lower than the field corresponding to free electron resonance (ESR) (0.3236 T). Apart from the line corresponding to the resonance of the nanoparticle system, the spectrum also contains an additional weaker line, identified for a resonance field of ∼0.12 T, which is appreciably lower than B_0r. This line was attributed to magnetic ions complex that is in a disordered structure in the layer that has an average thickness of 1.4 nm, this layer being situated on the surface of the Zn_0.15Ni_0.85Fe₂O₄ nanoparticles that have a mean magnetic diameter of 8.9 nm.     

Ferromagnetism in Thermally Decomposed Polyimide Films

Magnetic resonance studies of polyimide films thermally decomposed in flowing N₂ at 520°C reveal the presence of two very different magnetic resonance spectra at room temperature. One spectra is a sharp temperature independent paramagnetic resonance line having a g value of 1.990, typical of a free radical. The other much broader line centered at lower field displays a marked broadening and shift to lower magnetic field as the temperature is lowered, characteristic of a ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) signal. Measurements of the AC susceptibility as a function of magnetic field strength confirm the existence of ferromagnetism at room temperature. Magnetic force microscope (MFM) imaging at room temperature show evidence of long thin ferromagnetic regions in the decomposed polymer.