Effects of Mn substitution of Co and Fe in spinel CoFe2O4 thin films

Effects of Mn substitution for Co and Fe on the structural and magnetic properties of inverse-spinel CoFe₂O₄ have been investigated. Mn_xCo_1−xFe₂O₄ and Mn_yCoFe_2−yO₄ thin films were prepared by a sol–gel method. The observed increase of the lattice constant of Mn_xCo_1−xFe₂O₄ indicates that Mn²⁺ ions substitute the octahedral Co²⁺ sites. Conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy data indicate that a fraction of octahedral Co²⁺ ions exchange sites with tetrahedral Fe³⁺ ions through Mn doping. Vibrating-sample magnetometry data exhibit a large increase of saturation magnetization for both Mn_xCo_1−xFe₂O₄ and Mn_yCoFe_2−yO₄ films compared to that of the CoFe₂O₄ film. Such enhancement of magnetization can be explained in terms of a breaking of ferrimagnetic order induced by the Co²⁺ migration.